Unfit for survival revised
by musthavebrains
Summary: The story of a guy trying to survive a Zombie outbreak who really shouldn't
1. Chapter 1

I couldn't tell you how it started. I don't think anyone could. I can only tell of the aftermath and what happened to me when it started. At first it was only the occasional odd story by the news most of them unbelievable. I mean people eating people was not one of those things that really interested the average person any more. What with the economy in shambles and unemployment at an all time high. There were so many crazy people and cults out there now that we just lost interest. We thought the news knew this as well because with in the first couple of hours of the first report we heard nothing else for two days about these nut cases. Some people noticed the nervousness and strain of the reporters on TV like they were hiding something but once again no one really cared what was happening. I mean who cared most of us that were still working were preoccupied with just keeping our jobs at the time. And the ones who didn't have jobs were trying to figure out how to support their family's. That is until the morning of the third day, when hell broke lose and we couldn't ignore it any longer. The dead had come back.

Chapter 1 Good morning

The buzzing in my head told me that my alarm was going off loud and clear. As I rolled over and slapped the alarms snooze button I slowly opened one of my sleepy crusted eyes and peered across the room. I could see through the bedroom door and into the living room. The dog had gotten up on the couch and laid sprawled out across it with its tongue hanging out of its mouth. I personally didn't care if the dog was on the couch, but my wife would throw a fit if she saw it there. Unfortunately this meant I would have to get up instead of waiting for the snooze to go off again. My wife would be back from work in a little while. She was the one that usually kicked me out of bed for work. After my alarm goes off for the fourth or fifth time in the morning. I am not a morning person, but in this case I would have to get up to save the dog. I'm such a hero.

I swung my legs over the bed and put them on the floor. That was weird the floor was warm for once and not icy as it usually is this time of year. I must of left the heaters on high all night because it was pretty warm in the house. Well there goes the electric bill I thought to myself as I got up and stumbled into the living room. The dog opened one of its eyes and stared at me. I could see his tongue hanging out and crusty like when hes in a deep sleep. Other then his eye open he didn't move a muscle. I walked over to him and started to scratch his stomach and got his rear foot to start to move as a reward for my effort.

"Time to get up and off the couch before mom gets home Moe" I said as he just stretched out on the couch more. His legs reaching to either side of the couch.

"Look! Get up or mom's going to kick you out to the dog house out back again." He just laid there on his back and put his tongue back into his mouth and stared at me. I have a very lazy and spoiled dog in my opinion.

"Fine have it your way." I said and turned around and headed to the bathroom.

In the bathroom I looked into the mirror and examined my face. I haven't shaved in a week and the hair on my chin was turning Grey. What hair I did have on my head was starting to turn Grey as well. When i notice this I usually shave my beard and head but today I just didn't feel like it. I turned the shower on and started to get undressed from my sleeping clothes. As stepped into the shower and jump in shock, because the water was to hot. I hide behind the shower curtain and turned the hot water down only to get splashed by cold water and jumped again. I am going to change those knobs in the shower this weekend I vowed to myself as I have done every morning for the last five years.

Standing in the shower I washed myself off and then just stood their and let the water run over me and thought. I did not want to go to work today. They have been shutting the plant down for half the week for the last two months in an effort to save money while the economy is down. And when we do get to go to work there is never enough work for a whole day so you end up standing around for most of the day or finding busy work so they don't send you home for lack of work. Which I know I should not bitch about it I mean I do get paid for it but it drives you nuts with boredom. It could be worse. I could be laid off. With all the extra time off I should be getting to all those projects around the house but I can't even do that because I am only getting half pay checks and thats barely enough to cover the bills.

As I get out of the shower and wrap the towel around myself I stop and listen. I hear a car screeching down the street probably some dumb ass kid trying to show off for his friends. I didn't hear any thing else. Not even noise in the house. My wife should be back from work by now. I check my watch. She was off ten minutes ago. She works at the hospital four blocks away and it only takes a couple of minutes to get home. I shrug and open the door to the bathroom grabbing another towel for my head. The dog is still spreed out on the couch and now the cat had joined him. Those two were some of the strangest companions I have ever seen. The dog hates all cats and the cat hates all dogs but these two were best of buds. I shake my head and walk over to the TV and turn it on.

Some news anchor pops into the screen immediately and is talking about military troops moving into some small town in the middle of nowhere. I figure its in Afghanistan or some other bum fuck Egypt country. I walk into the kitchen to get something to eat. I can hear the anchor man talking about staying home during this emergency his voice seems to be higher then normal. I dig through the fridge for last nights dinner. "would love to stay home." I say to my self as I shove the left over meat loaf into the micro wave and start digging threw the drawers for a fork. I finely find one in the back of the drawer just as the meat loaf is done. I pull it out and head to the living room to eat and catch some sports highlights. I grab the remote and start changing the channel to find espn but every channel seems full of the news. I giggled to my self as I notice that every one of the reporters seems to look the same today. I turn off the TV after flipping to every channel twice with no sports on. Just what ever is going on in that small town in bum fuck Egypt. I ate mu meat loaf staring at the dog and cat on the couch. Something was nagging me but I couldn't put a finger on it.

After a while I start to think my wife is really late home from work so I get the cell phone and try to call. It goes directly to voice mail. I tried again and this time it went to the standard all lines are busy thing. I hate my cell phone company. I should try and change providers these week end. I tried her cell from the home phone and get the same message. I should be happy shes getting over time but I still have to get to work today. And we only have one car until I get paid and can get a new starter for the Honda. I finish up eating and slip on my slippers and go outside for a smoke.

As I stood out side on the porch I notice that the Jennings two houses down are packing the back of their car. I looked at my watch and thought its kind of a strange time to be going on a trip. Especially since chuck was laid off two weeks ago. I felt the dog brush by me on his way out the door to go to the bathroom which distracted me from watching the Jennings. I took a look around the yard and realized I haven't done poop patrol for about a week. It was starting to look bad. I'll have to get to that this weekend. I smashed my smoke out and went inside leaving the door open so the dog could come back in.

I went back to the bedroom and started to get dressed for work. As I was debating which set of socks were cleaner I heard the dog growl. Now I usually ignore his growls but something in its tone told me this was something not normal. I walked back into the living room to see my dogs hackles up and him growling at the door. I also noticed the cat was on guard as well. I shrugged and went to the door which was still open. I poked my head out and saw some guy hunched over somebody else. In the front yard. I stepped out and yelled. "Hey whats what are you doing there?" the guy turned at the sound of my voice and I about shit my pants.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Whats going on?

It was Bill from across the street and he looked really fucked up. It looked like something had taken a huge chunk out of his shoulder and blood was smeared all over his face and he had something meaty hanging out of his mouth. For a split second I noticed the other body on the ground was that of his girlfriend Susie, Sally or something like that. I stood there dumb founded until with a grunt from Bill as he jumped to his feet and started to run at me in the front door. Out of pure luck I think I stepped back and slammed the door shut just as he came to it. I heard a loud crashing sound as he slammed into the door.

He stared to pond on the door or I guess you could say wail away at it with his entire body. And for once I had to admit that my wife was right in installing that solid oak door. I put my body against it and rammed the dead bolt home as well as hooked up the chain for what good that would do. I slowly backed away keeping an eye on the door when I bumped into the dog who was growling. I put my hand on its head in a effort to either calm him or me down. I didn't know witch. I looked over to the coffee table and saw my cell there. I almost jumped all the way across the room in my effort to get it.

I dialed 911 as fast as I could and held the phone up to my ear. All I got was all lines are busy please try back latter. I through the phone onto the couch and started to look around for the home phone. Where the hell did I put it. I started to panic. Then I remembered on the floor by the couch. I get on my knees and start to look. When I saw it half way under the couch I grab for it and stand up. I look out the front window and see Susie or what ever her name sit up in the yard. Half her face was missing and she was looking around in pale vacant eyes. And then the pounding on the front door reminded me of Bill.

I ducted down from the window and tried 911 again. This time I got a ring.

"This is 911 where is your location?" came a voice over the phone. And I don't think I have ever been more happy to here a cops voice before.

Then the voice came again asking the same question. I snapped out of my little mini trance and started to speak fast.

"Yea! This is Kyle Weathers at 453 Webster st" I about yelled into the phone which caused Bill to start to pound even harder.

"Sir we will get to you as soon as we can If you are not in immediate danger stay where you are." came the female voice on the other side.

I took one look at the door and yelled "Yea! I'm in immediate danger. The guy across the street just ate his girlfriend and is try to get in my house to eat me."

"Is he in the house now sir?" The voice came back over the line with a hint of panic behind it.

"No hes not in the fucking house!" I yelled "He's at the front door trying to pound his way in."

"Is your door secured from breaking sir?" came the voice.

I was a little taken back by this line of questioning and decided to answer. "Yea! It's a heavy oak door my wife had me install a couple of years ago."

"Sir! Do you have any weapons in the house?" Came the reply.

I thought for a minute. "Yea! I have a 9 mm and an 22 rifle in my closet." I was thinking to myself what the fuck is going on.

"Sir you need to retrieve those weapons load them and keep them close until we can get to you."

"What do you mean when we get to you?" I was getting pissed. "I need you here now!"

There was a pause over the phone and then "Sir haven't you been watching the news?"

This made me start to think about the news I heard before I turned the TV off. "What news are you talking about?"

There was another pause over the phone. "Sir the whole country is under marshal law until the riots are put down."

"What fucking riots? All I got is some nut case trying to eat me. I need help." I was bordering on desperation now.

"Sir troops and police are working their way through town even as we speak and will get to you when they can. I suggest that you lock yourself in another room stay quiet and if any of the infected get in shoot them in the head. Good bye sir and good luck." with that the phone went dead on the other end.

I was staring at the front door and could see that Susie or what ever her name was had joined Bill at the door and was pounding on it as well. The phone fell from my hand and hit the floor breaking apart. I didn't notice because only one thing was going though my head. "If any of the infected get in shoot them in the head." At this point I did shit my pants.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I stood there in front of the door watching it shake with every pound as Bill and his girl hit it. I was in a stunned shock and didn't know what to do. At least until Cody the kid next door came and rammed into the front window. Shattering the glass into a million pieces. The dog went nuts barking. As luck would have it it caused two things to happen. One it snapped me out of my trance and two it made me give thanks to my wife on insisting on installing those decorative bars over our windows last summer for looks and security as she put it. It was something I was against because we live in a small town with next to no crime and I didn't want to spend the money.

I turned from Cody's wiggling body snagged on the bars and ran to the bedroom saying "money well spent."

I ran for the closet and started the rifle through the contents until I got to the back. I found the case I kept the 9mm in and a box of ammo. I couldn't find the 22 rifle and remembered it was in storage down stairs. I hadn't gone shooting in years and never really got into it in the first place. I came out of the closet and ran into the front room. I could see Cody had dislodge himself and was trying to squeeze through the bars now. I looked at the door and could see that the dead bolt was holding up fine but the hinges were coming loose. The dog took up a stance in front of the door giving up on barking and just growling.

I turned and ran for the basement stairs in the kitchen. I opened the door to the stairwell which also went to the back door. Through the back door I could see into the house next to me. All I could see was blood all over the window and on the side of the house running in what looked like a bloody hand print smear to the front like you see in those slasher movies. I ran down stairs calling the dog after me. Moe came running and so did the cat who never listen to me before. I guess there is something to say for self preservation. I slammed the basement door shut behind me and started to pile boxes against the door as fast as I could.

When I thought I blockaded the door good enough I leaned against the pile of boxes and tried to calm my hart down. Thats when I heard the front door give and Bill and the others come tumbling into the house. I heard them shuffling around looking for me and I tried to keep as quiet as possible. I notice the dog and cat were huddling in the far corner of the basement. I hoped the dog would stay quiet.

I remembered my cell and checked my pocket for it only to remember that I thew it on the couch upstairs. I started to curse myself out loud and then remembered the craze's up stairs and bit my tongue. I heard a scream coming from outside in the street and then Bill and his cohorts running for the door. And then there was silence. The dog just looked at me like I knew what to do.

I started to think I needed to find that rifle and then a smell came to my nose. I looked down at my pants and realized I would have to find a change of cloths and a towel first. Hind site being what it is that wasn't probably the first priority, but then again I wasn't in my right mind at the time either. Lucky for me the basement is also the laundry room. I started to strip my clothes off trying to stay quiet and listen for any noise upstairs. All I could hear is what kind of sounded like sirens in the distance. Rummaging threw the cloths and other laundry I found a old towel I used to wipe myself down with the best I could and a change of cloths and some old boots. After I got dressed I started to move boxes trying to find the rifle and box of ammo I had stored down there. It took me about an half hour of digging to find it but in the same box I found an old wind up radio as well. I sat down on a box and pulled the handle and started to wind it up. It was a gift from my wife a few years ago and I only used it once.

With a crackle of electricity it came to life. I quickly turned the volume down so as not to let Bill know where I was at and started to tune it for a signal. I finely got one. It wasn't to good probably because I was in the basement but I could make out some of what was being said. I listen to it for about an hour or so every fifteen minutes having to wind it up some more. All I could make out was stay in doors have no contact with the infected and that the government was marshaling all its forces to restore order. With nothing new being said since all they seem to do is repeat themselves over and over I turned it off.

That would explain a little of why I couldn't get a hold of my wife and why she wasn't home yet. In an emergency she was legally required to stay at the hospital and render what aid she could. I could only hope that she was OK and that the government could restore order some time soon. I was hungry again and did not want to go up stairs so I went to my wifes canning closet across the room. I selected a jar of pickles and sat down to eat. Well at least I have an excuse for not going to work today. In cases like this do I need to call in sick I wondered. I sat their and ate pickles and giggled at my stupid joke. The dog just looked at me.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I sat down there for hours eating pickles with the dog and reading old hot rod magazines I found in one of the boxes. Every once in a while I would wind up the radio and listen for any new news. There wasn't any. I could hear outside the whale of a siren or gun shots in the distance. And then I heard the back door open and somebody come in. the dogs hackles came up and it did a low growl. I stop ed reading the magazine and put my hand on its head to quite it down and sat there as quite as I could with a pickle hanging out of my mouth. I'm sure I looked quite funny kind of like one of those Norman Rockwell pictures my wife loves so much. I could see the heading now. Caught in the pickle jar or something like that.

The foot steps creaked across the floor above me. I could tell where they were by the sound. Was it an infected or maybe someone here to rescue me. I dropped the magazine and picked up the rifle hugging it to me. It dawned on me I never loaded it. Looking around I spied the box a ammo across the room. I slowly got up and started to make my way over to it trying to stay as quite as possible. I heard the sound of cupboards opening and closing above me. Looking up trying to figure why someone would be going threw my cupboards I didn't see the dog move in front of my feet and promptly tripped and fell over it crashing into a pile of boxes. I let out a yell that ended with a yelp of pain as my hand in a last ditch attempt to stop my fall grabbed for one of the support post that had a nail in it. Cutting my hand and ripping a gash across it. The dog scampered to the other side of the basement.

I covered my mouth and looked up. All sound upstairs stop. After about a minute I heard movement across the floor coming for the back door. Sitting up I reach over a box and snagged the box of ammo and opened it up. 3 rounds. Crap! What do I do now. I cold hear whoever was up their taking the stairs slowly one at a time. I did the only thing I could think of.

"Whoever s in my fucking house better get the fuck out now. I have a gun!" I yelled trying to sound as tough as possible. The dog barked once. I looked at it and said "A dog to!"

Their was silence for a second and then a voice on the other side of the door. "Dude! Shut up! You'll bring some of those freaks here."

I stared at the door dumbfounded. It sounded like that Kid down the street who was always stoned. I stood up and started to move toward the door. "What are you doing in my house?"

"getting munches!" came the reply.

I shook my head "What do you mean getting munches? Don't you have some at your house?"

"yea I do but theirs a bunch of those dead freaks there now and I was hungry you know." there was a pause and then "your door was open and I figured you wouldn't mind."

Standing by the pile of boxes blocking the door now I tried to think of something to say.

Then I heard him say "Hey dude! Do think you could let me in?"

"Why should I? You were just trying to still my food." I said.

There was a long pause then "I'm sorry dude! I'll give it back but right now I need a place to hide from those freaks and you seem to have a good place." another pause "please dude."

I thought about it and it would be good to have someone to talk to if if it was someone not of the most intellective mind on the street. "Give me a minute I have to unbar the door.

"you got a bar man! Cool! Can I have a drink?"

This gave me second thoughts about letting him in and then with a shrug I started to move boxes. As I moved boxes it I started to ask questions.

"Do you know whats going on out there?"

"Ya! Its the end of the world and we all got the end of the short stick dude."

I decided to just shut up and wait until he was inside before asking to many more questions. I lifted the last box and saw that a piece of lumber had fallen in my hurry to barricade the door and wedged its self between a support beam and the door. I couldn't budge it so I sat down and started to kick it out. It was jammed pretty good.

"What are you doing dude?" he said "Your making a lot of noise."

I stop ed and looked at the door. "Why don't you go back up stairs and get some more food for us?"

After a pause "Alright dude. But hurry and get this door open!" I heard him going up the stairs.

That was what I was doing I thought to myself. Why wasn't this board budging. I looked at it and realized the way it was wedged I would have to hit it from the other side and not on the side I was on. I got up and moved to the other side and sat down again. With one kick it came free and the door swung open. I got up and peeked around the door jamb and up the stairs. I could here him digging in the cupboards. I grabbed my rifle and loaded it. I took one step out of the door way when the dog started to growl again I heard some one come threw the ruble of the front door. Or more precise a lot of somebody's.

"Hey kid! Get down here now!" I yelled. But it was to late. I heard them come into the kitchen and and the kid yelling "dude get off me!" and "don't eat me man!" several times. Then someone appeared at the top of the stairs they had large chunks of skin missing or hanging from his body and half of his face was missing. I pulled the trigger of the rifle and nothing.

With a inhuman growl the guy jumped from the top of the stairs down to me. I had stepped back in the doorway and he went sailing past me into the support beam behind me bashing his head and cracking it wide open. He landed with a dull thud. I slammed the door shut and this time bolted it. I looked at the guy the dog was now barking at him. He wasn't moving so I grabbed for the wood I had kicked out and jammed it back into place. I could hear what sounded like a pack of animals up stairs tearing into the kid. It sounded a lot like those nature shows on TV showing a bunch of lions eating some helpless animal they had caught.

I knelled down next to the guy putting my hand on the dog who stopped barking but continued to growl and could see that his head was cracked open and his brains were flowing out. I turned around and puked. I tell you what pickles coming back up are pretty nasty. When I was done with the dry heaves I turned to examine the body again. I turned it over and saw that the head wound was not the only thing wrong with him. At first I thought the chunks of meat hanging off him were from some sort of car crash now I was pretty sure that wasn't it. It looked like he was being eating alive. There was no way this guy was alive before he came at me. Then something the kid said came back to me. Those dead freaks is what he said. I sat back stunned. Walking dead was just story's and good movies they couldn't be true could they.

I sat down their next to the dead guy with the sound of the chomping meat up stairs for I don't know for how long. I was in a trance trying to make sense of the whole thing when I noticed the sounds upstairs stop ed and I could hear the sound of shuffling feet coming to the stairs. And then something tumbling down stairs and banging against the door. It was one of them. I could hear it getting up and then it started to pound on the door. The dog went nuts barking at the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I paced back and forth trying to think of what to do. Another one came tumbling down the stairs and hit the one that was down already and they both slammed into the door. I didn't stop the dog from barking figuring they already knew I was there any ways. The door shook on its hinges. I knew it wasn't going to hold up to much more. But what to do. Looking at the rifle the safety was on so that was why it didn't fire. What a dumb ass. I started to walk around the basement. I could hide under some of these boxes. But what if they found me. I could try and shoot them but I was never that great of a shot anyways and aiming for the head would be harder then the body. At least thats what I thought you had to shoot to put them down. Thats what the 911 operator said.

I looked at one of the several windows in the basement. They were small probably a foot and half by two, and five feet off the ground. I looked at myself and realized that I should of listen to my wife when she said we should start eating more healthy. I hope she was OK. What to do keep ed going threw my head. Then another one of those thing came crashing down the stairs smashing into the other two but this time the top hinge of the door popped and the door started to give some.

"Fuck it!" I said and turned for the window. I opened it and realized I couldn't squeeze by with the window frame in place. I took the rifle and used the butt end and started to bash the frame out. I heard the door give a little bit more and looked behind me to see a arm coming out of the crack. "shit" I bashed at the frame some more and it came out. Tossing the rifle I grabbed the edge of the window and pulled myself up as far as I could. I couldn't lift myself high enough to get out. "Fuck!" I yelled. I looked around and saw that there was two arms sticking out from around the door now.

I grabbed the nearest box and propped it against the wall. Standing on top if it I could pull myself into the window, but as my weight went onto the box my foot broke the top and it crashed into a bunch of glasses that were in the box. I crashed back down to the ground and on top of some more boxes. Picking myself up and shaking the now destroyed box off my foot I looked at the door. A head was poking out around it. It was Bill and he was looking right at me with milky covered eyes. Because of the press of the others he couldn't get in yet, but it was just a matter of time.

Grabbing another box and kicking the broken one out of the way I tried again. This time it held and I pushed my self into the window frame. Then I stop ed . My stomach was to big. I pulled and wiggled but I was only getting more stuck. I could only imagine what Bill was thinking. Looking at my fat ass hanging from the window. MMM! Rump roast. I tried even harder to squeeze out. I was making head way when I heard the door cave in.

"Fuck!" I screamed and pulled harder. Kicking my feet I felt them hit something and gave me that much more pressure to pull out of the window onto the other side. Rolling over I peeked into the basement only to see Bill's face poke out. His nose was plastered across his face. Thats what I must of hit getting out. I looked at my boots and saw blood all over the heels. I looked around once I figured out that Bill and his little buddy's didn't know how to climb out the window. I guess they are pretty dumb like in the movies. Where to go from here. I was in the back of the house. My yard was fenced in with 6 foot ceder fencing (one of the buying points my wife like about the house). I started to walk the perimeter of the fence peeking out the cracks.

What I could see of the front there were a few of those things (I couldn't bring myself to call them zombies) walking around. There was nothing to the sides of the house or in the ally in back. I heard sirens going off in the distance to the back of the house. I sat down next to the fence and looked at the basement window I had come out of. I could see a half dozen arms sticking out of it. Taking stock of what I have was disappointing. A crushed pack of cigarettes in one pocket a multi tool in the other. I forgot the rifle and 45 in the basement as well as the radio. I didn't even have my cell or wallet. I could go back in and get them by the back door. One look at the basement window I discarded that Ideal right away.

Standing up I looked out the back into the ally. I heard the sirens again. I could go towards the sound of them. They would probably have guns and a way of protecting me. On the other hand they may be up to there eyes in infected. I could go in the opposite direction. Thats closer to out of town and hopefully away from the freaks. Or I could try and make it to the hospital and my wife. I realized I really wanted to see her and be with her. We haven't been getting along for a while now but I still felt I needed her. The only problem I could see is the hospital would be full of infected and chances are there will be no one there any ways my wife included.

I thought about it for a while and decided to at least make my way to the hospital and take a look. So with fingers crossed I opened the back gate and slipped out into the ally.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Everything seemed to go well at first. I started down the ally heading to the end with the thought in mind to dash across the street and into the next ally. It didn't work out so well as I heard a scream come from behind me. Turning around I saw a women come running out into the ally about twenty yards from me. She was looking behind her as she ran. Out behind her came two kids covered in blood. They weren't older then twelve. Obviously they were her kids and they were infected. I did the first thing that came to mind. I turned back around and ran for my life. An old saying came to mind that said you don't have to run faster then the bear just fast then your partner. I hoped I was faster then her. Looking back behind me I could see her gaining on me fast. She had noticed me and was yelling at me, but with the blood pumping I couldn't tell what she was saying. It looked like help. I tried to run faster.

Realizing that I couldn't out run her or the kids I decided to duck into the yard I was running by. As I turned into the yard a branch caught my foot and tripped me into some bushes. I landed hard and rolled to the other side covered in thorns and leaves. When I looked up to see were they were the women came into my sight at the edge of the ally. She yelled Help. I just sat there looking dumb. Just then the first of the kids reached her slamming into and knocking them both to the ground and out of sight. The next kid without even looking at me ran passed and I heard him join the pile of screams and moans and ripping flesh. The ripping flesh snapped me out of my stupor and I got up and started to move away from the sounds as fast and quietly as possible.

I recognized the house of the yard I was in as that of one of the co workers my wife worked with. Tracy or something or other. The only thing I could really remember was she had some really nice tits, and I never complained about coming over for bar b q's with my wife so I could watch them. I walked up to the side of the house were the side door to the garage was and peaked in. I didn't see anyone, so I tried the door. The knob turned and the door swung open silently.

I took a real quick look both ways before I went in to make sure no one saw me. I could still hear the feast going on in the ally, but at least the screams stopped. I wonder who she was. With a shrug I walked into the garage. It was dark but I could see that their was a truck parked inside. I worked my way around it until I was at the main garage door. It was one of those old ones with the row of little windows in it. I peaked out. There was nothing in the drive way. Tracy drove a red car. She was probably at the hospital with my wife. There were a couple of infected wandering around the house across the street, and blood stains all over the road. And it looked like someone had hit a light pull and then was dragged out all bloody from a car down about two houses.

I made my way back to the other side of the truck and tried the door to the main house. It was unlocked and I swung it open and jumped back just in case someone jumped at me. No one did. I took quick look in to make sure no one was around, and stepped into the house. I was standing in the middle of the dinning room/kitchen listening. There was no sound in the house. Just the periodic gun fire or siren outside in the distance. From where I stood I could make out the living room and what looked like an office. Strange I always thought that was a coat closet. Every time I came here the door was shut. Then again I never spent much time in the house just outside with all the other guest. I only came in to use the bathroom.

I slowly looked threw the rest of the house to make sure no one else was there and locking doors with a small stop in her bed room to admire her underwear. Of which you could barley call it that. Smiling I headed back to the kitchen. I was hungry again. Why wouldn't I be? What little food I had today came back out. I rifled threw the refrigerator finding some left over chicken and put that in the micro wave. While I waited for the food to heat up I looked out back into the ally. The kids were done and wondering aimlessly in the ally. I could see the feet of the lady but not the rest of her body. That was probably a good thing. The micro wave beeped and I went to get my hard earned meal.

Sitting at the table eating I debated my next move. I couldn't go out to the ally again. Not with those kids out there. Out the front wasn't an option either. I saw a phone hanging on the wall in the kitchen and decided to give it a try. I picked it up and saw that Tracy had her work on speed dial. I hit it and waited for it to ring. It rang twice and then I got the lines are busy please try again later. I hung the phone up and sat back down. After I was done eating I sat back to think and digest. She made some good chicken. Thats when I smelled it. It was a nasty vomit smell that had a hint of shit in it. Then I realized it was me.

I got up from the table and went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I cleaned up a little. With a quick peek out the bathroom window to make sure no one heard the shower going I got in. I washed myself as fast as I could and got out. As I was drying myself off I saw a little figuring of a dog and cat curled up next to each other and it reminded me that I left the dog and cat in the basement with Bill and his buddy's. I thought about it for a minute and then shrugged "thats what you get for sleeping on the couch. I got dressed and headed back out to the living room.

I tried the phone again with the same results. So I stared to look around for anything that might be useful. As I made it around the house looking in cupboards and drawers I found a hand gun with some rounds and a battery powered radio. I set the radio on the table and stuffed the gun in the back of my pants. I would of liked to find some clean clothes but Tracy lived alone and I did not want to put on girl cloths like they would of fit any ways.

I went into the garage again and checked the shelves there for any thing useful. Just a chain saw and garden equipment. The truck was a newer model Dodge ram. I always wanted one of those. Then I remembered seeing some keys hanging up by the front door. I figured that could be my way out of here. A plan started to form in my head. I would load the truck up with as much food and other supplies as I could and drive on out of here running over any dead heads I came to. Yea! I would drive to the hospital and rescue my wife like a knight in shining armor. I went back into the house to start to gather things. I did remember some camping gear in the closet in the spare room. I'll grab that stuff to. I was pretty proud of myself.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

About a half hour later I had all the supplies I thought I would need packed up in in the bed of the truck. I grabbed the six pack of beer out of the fridge and started to head for the door when I looked out back from the sink window. I could see that the two kids had wondered into the back yard and were still wondering aimlessly around. I couldn't see the womens legs anymore which I thought was kind of weired. I shrugged and started to walk to the garage door. As I went by the back sliding glass door I peeked through a crack in the curtain and saw a blood shot eye peering in. It was the woman. With a screech she rammed the glass door cracking it from top to bottom.

It shook me out of my frozen stance from seeing the eye ball staring at me. I dashed for the garage door just as she hit it again this time Shattering the door. As I ran around the table unconsciously I pushed it toward the women who fell over it. I could see the kids in the back yard running toward the house at the sound from the woman. I looked at the woman sprawled across the floor and starting to get up. I grabbed for the door and swung it open. Looking into the garage I realized I didn't have the keys. I turned around to look at the door where I saw them hanging and they weren't there.

Looking down at the woman I ran over and kicked her in the jaw with all my might as she looked up at me. This caused her to fall backwards and onto her back. The kids had just reached the back door when I saw the keys laying on the counter by the sink. I notice that I was still holding the six pack in my hand and with a small wonder of how I manage to hold onto it I threw it at the first kid. It hit him in the face full force breaking open several cans spraying beer out every where and knocking him back into the other kid and out the door.

I dashed for the keys and grabbed them from the counter. As I turned around to head back to the door I saw the woman starting to get up again. Figuring it worked the first time why not again. I took a step forward and planted my foot right into her face knocking her the other way and onto her back again. Unfortunately I slipped on some of her blood on the floor and fell onto my back. This amazingly saved me as one of the kids had come back in the door and launched himself across the table at me. As I fell he sored over me and into a heap in the living room. It was all in slow motion like the matrix or something like that.

I scrambled to my feet and felt the gun pressing against my back and reached for it. When I pulled it out in front of me I pulled the trigger. It went off and a bullet went into the womans leg as she was using it to push herself up. It knocked her back to the ground. Turning the gun to the back door I fired blindly at the kid coming in it. Another bullet tore into his chest pushing him back out the door. I turned the gun to the other kid who was standing up facing away from me and fired another round at him hitting him in the back and knocking him into the couch. Turning around I ran for the garage door stepping on the back of the woman and pushing her down again as I went by. Reaching the door I ran through and turned around and slammed it shut just as the kid that was outside launched himself at me. As I the shut the door I heard and felt the impact against the door.

Breathing hard with my back against the door and sweat coming down my forehead profusely I looked at the truck. I really needed this truck because there was no way I could keep out running those things like that. With no time to spare I hit the garage door button and jumped into the driver seat of the truck. I could see feet under the door as it raised and thought with a little glee that it would be fun to run them over. Just then the door to the house broke down and in tumbled ma and her two brats. I put the key in the ignition smiled and turned it. Nothing happened. I tried again with the same effect. I looked out the side door and saw ma standing outside the truck. Smiling I gave her a meek smile. Her mouth curled in a snarl and she started to pound on the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sitting there staring at the steering wheel I have to say my life was going past my eyes and I was not impressed. In the rear view mirror I could see them starting to come in. there were a lot more of them then I remembered. Ma and her kids were pounding on the drivers side window and I could see hair line cracks starting to form. I looked at the gun in my lap and figured it would be better then what was about to happen. I picked it up and started to raised it to my head when the barrel hit the shifter. Knocking it into park. God I could be such a dumb ass some times. With a sheepish grin at the woman at my window I turned the engine over shifted into reverse and gunned it.

The engine revved up and the truck jumped backwards rolling over a couple of the dead heads and knocking the rest to the side. Ma was hanging onto the side mirror with one hand and pounding on the window with the other as I pulled out into the street. I shifted into drive and gunned it again dragging her for about twenty feet before she fell away and I felt a bump in the back wheel. There were a few more of the dead on the street that were running full tilt at me as I whizzed by. Near the end of the street I realized that I was going the wrong way.

I needed to go the other direction to get to the hospital. Looking in the rear view mirror there was a lot more of them on the street, and they were all running towards me. Figuring I could just go around the block I hung a right as I came to the intersection. You ever watch the movies and you see how the good guy wipes around corners so easy and you think you could do the same thing right? Wrong! As the truck started to turn around the corner one of the wheels caught a pot hole in the road catching and causing the truck to start to tilt to its side. The next thing I know is the sensation of being in a washing machine turning around and around. I remembered something about the last election when they wanted to raise taxes to fix the roads in town. I voted against it because I didn't want my taxes raised. I was really starting to regret that. When I finally came to a stop right side up I looked out the now shattered passenger window and could see the dead heads running at me and even closer. Looking out the drivers side whose window was just cracked I could see a few more of them coming from the other direction. The engine was still running I loved this truck. takes a beating and keeps on ticking.

Hitting the gas it lurched into motion again. Turning down the next street which was mine I accelerated down it. As I passed my house I noticed that Bill and his boys had managed to come up from the basement and were wandering around my front yard. That is until they saw me driving by and took off in pursuit. Two houses down I heard a bark and looking out the passenger window could see my dog Moe running out from behind a house. He looked OK, and I figured he must of gotten away clean. Jamming on the breaks I bent over and tried to open the door. It was jammed.

As it turned out I didn't have to open it anyways. The dog jumped high enough to get half of its body in the window. It struggled to pull itself up so I reached over and pulled it in by its collar. Bill slammed into the back of the truck and started to climb in the back. My foot hit the gas and the truck lurched into motion causing him to fall backwards and back to the ground. The others ran passed him. I could see in the mirror bill getting back up and starting to run after me.

There were probably a half dozen of the ones in Bill's group behind me. A couple of dozen turning the corner I came around and about a dozen in the street in front of me. The engine of the truck started to chug as I tried to give it more gas to run them over. This wasn't good. I couldn't afford to break down now. Instead of running them over a decided on a whim to try and dodge them. I turned into a yard and headed for the back plowing threw bushes and into the ally behind and into the next yard.

Coming out into the next yard I realized I was back in Tracy's yard. Weaving around the side of the house one of the kids from earlier popped out from around the corner. He hit the grill dead center and stuck. Screaming threw the front yard and onto the street I turned back down the street. Other then the kid clawing at the hood of the car I didn't see anyone else on the street. They all must of followed me when I was here earlier. I was finely heading the right direction but did not know what to about the kid on the front of the hood.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I went down two blocks without seeing anyone except the kid stuck on the front grill. There didn't seem to be any of the ones that were following me behind me any more either. Stomping on the breaks I came to a halt and hoped the kid would dislodge and fall off the front of the truck. He did but most of his front torso was ripped away with the jolt.

I looked around for anyone else I might of missed and didn't see anything. The hospital was one block up and one down from where I was at. The best place to check it out would probably be the wooded park across the street. I would head there and see what I could see. Thats when the kid popped up in front of the truck again most of his chest was gone and I could see all the way through to his spine. I looked at the kid and then at the dog who looked at me with a look that said "what the fuck!". I hit the gas and ran the kid down feeling the bump as the wheels went over him.

I drove for another half a block when the engine chugged, coughed and died on me. As I came to a slow stop tried and tried to turn it over several times to no avail. The dog started to bark at me and I looked up quickly thinking that it had saw one of the dead heads. There was no one in sight except the lump of the kid behind use which wasn't moving. I looked at the dog and it just whined at me and looked out the window. Like it was saying "we need to go!". It was right the truck was useless and we had to get out of sight before one of them sees us.

I tried the door and found out mine was jammed like the passenger one. I tried to roll the window down but the handle was broke. Taking one look around I dived across the seat and started to crawl out the passenger window. Getting half way out I remembered the gun and pulled myself back in and tried to find it. After a few seconds of frantic searching I found it under the front seat, but I didn't see the box of ammo that went with it. Cursing myself I looked around outside again and proceeded to crawl out the window with the dog right behind me.

Out side I dashed (which was more like a lumber) to the side of the closes house with the dog running ahead of me. When I reached it I pressed my back to the wall and took a couple of deep breaths. I was really out of shape. After taking a minute to get my breathing under control I took another peek around the corn to the street I was just on. I didn't see anything close bye, but I could make out some dead heads coming out a few blocks down from where I was at. Probably the ones that were chasing me.

I didn't think they saw me and figured I should go in the opposite direction they were in. besides that was where the hospital was. How I was going to find my wife and get away with her with out a car was lost on me, but with out any other plan I went ahead any ways.

Being careful and peeking around corners before I went I made my way about another block before I came up on the park from the hospital. Ducking down by some garbage cans I looked the park over. Because of the under brush and trees I couldn't see the hospital, but figured all the foliage would give me cover. I moved into the park keeping as low as I could so as not to be seen. It never came to me that the cover could block my sight of the dead heads just as good as it blocked there sight of me. That is until I came face to face with one of them fifteen feet into the woods. It was facing away from me and looking down. It hadn't seen me yet. That is until the dog barked.

It turned around at the sound and looked stupidly at me at first, but then its lips curled up into a sneer. I would have been finished frozen there looking at my death coming at me if it wasn't for the dog. It jumping passed me and rammed into the chest of the thing knocking it and him to the ground and rolling down a small hill it was standing by.

This knocked me out of my scared state and I raised the gun and fired without aiming. I came closer to hitting the dog then I did the dead head. The dog looked at me for a second like it was saying "what the fuck!", and then he went back to attacking the dead head. I decided to get closer so I wouldn't miss again and started to make my way down the hill. Half way down my foot sunk into a small hole in the ground which caused me to trip. Falling face first with my hands out in front of me the gun went flying. As I hit the ground so did the gun. The gun fired as it hit the ground. I covered my head figuring the dead thing was going to be on top of me snacking at any time

I laid there for a few seconds when I felt a tongue lick the back of my hand. What was it doing? Liking me like a lollipop? I slowly looking up and could see the bottom of a pair of feet two feet in front of me. Then the dog licked me again followed by a whine. I looked over and saw the dog standing over me panting with a happy look on its face and then I looked at the feet again. I pushed myself up to my knees and looked at the body in front of me. Once again lady luck was looking over me. When I dropped the gun and it went off it hit the dead head right between the eyes killing it. I looked at the dog and then back at the body then back at the dog who had a look on its face that seemed to say "you are one of the luckiest idiots I have ever seen!". I felt my body give out and I started to fall face down into the ground and then everything went black.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Coming to some time later I had no ideal what time it was. Looking around I was laying down at the feet of the dead guy and the dog curled up next to me sound asleep on my other side. Rolling over and sitting up I peered around at my surroundings. Evey thing was quite not even the chirps of birds. As I got to my feet the dog awoke and jumped to his feet and started to sniff around the small clearing we were in. If you could call it a clearing. It was a open space of about ten by ten.

Remembering the gun I looked around for it and found it in some roots of a tree on the edge of the clearing. I checked to see how many more rounds I had and discovered I had none. I pulled my arm back intending to throw it away when I stopped thinking that I better hold on to it in case I find some more rounds. Stuffing it back in the back of my pants I turned back to the corpse.

Its was some Hispanic guy in his twenty's I thought. Other then the hole in between his eyes and the dog bites on his arm he didn't see to fucked up. I didn't see any other wounds on his body. Thinking that was weired. Don't you need to be bitten by a zombie to become one. Kneeling down I started to check his body a little more closely. I didn't see anything unusual other then his dick was hanging out of his unzipped pants. And his face other then the hole in his forehead his cheeks were swollen. I saw this before. A little shaky I Lifted his upper lip to expose his teeth I had no doubt that I just killed a living man. I came up on him when he was taking a piss. It wasn't a sneer he gave me it was him trying to talk with his mouth wired shut. He had a broken jaw.

I fell back on my butt and just stared at him. A murder. That was what I was. If I knew I wouldn't have done it but a I didn't know and I did. What to do? What to do? Sitting there looking at the body I thought I could turn myself in. Then I remembered the situation I was in. All the police were probably to busy to worry about an accidental shooting. I could bury it and act as if nothing happen? I sat there and tried wrapping my arms around my knees, but because of my large midsection my arms wouldn't reach around enough to grab each other. So I grabbed my knees instead rocking back and forth.

I sat there for about a half an hour before I decided that once all this was over I would turn myself in. As for now I needed to get to the hospital and my wife. As I got up and started to head to the hospital the dog came trotting up to me. He had a look like he just heard the funnies joke in the world and that the joke was me.

We slowly made our way through the bushes in the direction of the hospital. About a hundred feet later we stumbled into a dirt road parking place. At first I wanted to go back and stay in the woods but noticed a city parks and recreation truck parked there. Looking around I walked up to the truck and peeked inside. There was nobody in it or around it. I smiled and opened the door to check for the keys. There were none. With a frown I debating were the driver was I noticed that a city name badge was hanging from the mirror. Taking a hold of it I turned to look at the picture. On the top of it it said Juan Garcia and under that was a pitcher of the the guy I shot.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

About ten minutes later I headed back to the body figuring it would have the keys on him. I tried to move as quietly and quickly as I could but was still making a lot of noise. Every twig I broke or bush I disturbed made noise that I thought was way to loud. Nothing came screaming for me so I figured I must be pretty quiet. When I came to the edge of the clearing I heard what sounded like something wet smacking. Slowing down I peeked through the bushes to the other side. There was the dead body right were I left it but their were to two people kneeling down ripping its guts out and devouring it.

As I stood there debating what to do it I noticed that the dog wasn't with me any more. Looking around quickly I didn't see it any where. Where the hell was it at. Then I heard barking coming from the other side of the clearing. Looking through the bushes I could see it on the other side barking at the two zombies. They looked up at it and then started to move toward it in a shambling sort of way. The dog bolted the other direction and the two dead heads ran after it. Within seconds all the noise receded to the background.

"I be damed!" I said he lead them away from the dead guy so I could get the keys. Not one to second guess good fortune I dashed into the clearing and started to search the guy for his keys. They weren't in his pockets. I checked around the clearing and couldn't find them. Stopping to think about it I could hear the dog and two zombie's crashing through the bush's far to the left of me and figured I had a few minutes. I looked up the hill we tumbled down and decided to check at the top of it.

I began to walk up the hill looking around to see if they fell during the tumble. When I got to the top I found a large set of keys on the ground with a rifle laying next to them right were we first ran into him. Looking to my right I could see the truck about twenty yards from where I was standing. It was down a small trail. The route I took to get to the truck first was in around the small hill I was on. I bent down and picked the rifle and keys up. He must of set them down to take a piss when I came up on him. Looking around I spotted the dog jumping through the bushes about a hundred yards in front of me. More important I saw the two zombies thirty yards in front of me and coming my way. They had seen me and stopped chasing the dog to come get me instead. They had bloody faces and looks like they were really pissed at me. I turned to the truck and ran as hard as I could yelling "fuuuuuck" all the way.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I was glad that the trail was down hill and clear. Looking to my side I could see that the dead heads were faster then me but were hampered by the brush. I came running into the parking lot and around the front of the truck. Grabbing the door and swinging it open to get in when one of the zombies came crashing into it. It knocked me down and knocked it down as well. I lifted myself up in my elbows from my back when the next one came running out of the bush's.

My eyes got wide as it came running up to me. Just as it was lowering itself to jump on me the dog came flying in from the side and slammed into it knocking it and the zombie to the side. I watched them roll away in a ball of fury when I remembered the other one. It was just getting up and looking at me even more mad now. I looked around me and saw the rifle laying next to me. Grabbing for it I swung it up at the zombie just as it lunged at me. As it came down the barrel of the rifle went into its mouth and I pulled the trigger. Its head disintegrated right in front of me showering me and everything else around in a film of blood and matter. Whats left of its body came crashing down on me.

I laid there for a second breathing heavy when the sound of the struggle between the dog and the other zombie reminded me of the danger. I pushed the dead one off me and looked over at the dog and the other zombie. The dog was running around it barking its head off. The zombie was turning around in circles trying to keep an eye on it taking swipes as the dog got close enough but never quit hitting its mark as the dog jumps out of its way. I stood up with the rifle and walked over to it. Just as it turned around to be facing me it looked at me. The rifle was leveled right at its head and it froze with a kind of confused look on its face. "leave my dog alone fucker" I pulled the trigger and its head disintegrated into a cloud of blood and bits of flesh.

The dog came up to my side and nosed my leg to let me know it was there. Lowering the gun and looking at the dog I patted it on the head. "what do you say we go get mom?" I said to it. The dog waged its tail with that stupid happy smile dogs get and barked.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

We got into the truck and as I started it. The engine was louder then I wanted but couldn't do anything about it. I knew this dirt road was an access road used by the city for maintenance of the park and that it went around the park. I figured I could just use it to go around the park and stay off the main streets. I shifted the truck in gear and started to drive. As I turned it around one of the wheels ran over one of the bodies it made a crunching sound. As I pulled father away I looked in the rear view mirror and seeing the bodies laying there a thought came to my head.

Hitting the brakes I shifted it in reverse and gunned it backwards rolling over the body again. This caused me to giggle a little so I shifted back into gear and aimed for the other body. As the truck hit it bouncing me a little in the cab I started to laugh out loud. I stopped the truck again and started to shift it in reverse again when I noticed the dog looking at me. He had a what the fuck are you doing look on its face. Staring at the dog my smile came away from my face. "yea! Lets go get mom." this brought a dog smile to its face. I shifted into drive and started to head down the path leaving headless pulps of flesh behind.

As I drove around the park I ran into a few more of the deadheads but didn't have any problems with them since they seemed to like to jump in front of the truck. When one would I would just hit the gas a little more and run them down. I would then shift it in reverse and hit them again for good measure. I giggled the whole time. The dog just looked on through the windshield.

When I came around the park I came up on another dirt parking lot. This one had a couple of dead munching on someone on the ground. They didn't seem to notice me at first interested in their dinner more then their surroundings. That is until they heard the revved up engine and looked around just in time to see my bumper smashing them in the face. I proceeded to run them over several times until they were nothing more then large smears of blood and goop on the ground. This was for a few reasons in my thinking. One I wanted to conserve what ammo I had. Two being in the truck was safer then being out. And three it was just really fun to do it.

When I was done I stopped the truck and looked around for any others around. Their weren't any around and the only other thing in the parking lot was a bright pink gremlin car. They were the biggest pieces of junks I have ever seen. And I know I owned one about twenty years ago. Mine was brown not pink though. I drove up to the side other the car so I could peek in and see if anything was in it. It was empty. Taking one more look around I grabbed the rifle and got out of the truck. The dog right on my heels.

The parking lot was on a low rise with shrubs and trees all around it. It looked like a good hiding place. I crawled into the back of the truck for a better view of the surrounding area. I could barely see over the bushes and in between the trees, but I could see the hospital. About a hundred feet the park ends and a road goes by. The hospital was across the street. The road seemed pretty clear but the parking lot was jammed pack with vehicles. The deadheads were roaming around all over the place. Especially the front doors witch were wide open.

Their were about thirty of them in the parking lot and I had no ideal how many were at the front door since they were jammed pack in there. My wife worked in the pharmacy to the left of the door. I figured the drop down metal fencing was in place and that was why they seemed to be piled up by the front door. This gave me hope that she was still alive and OK. How was I going to get her though. Their were to many out their for me to shoot as if I was a good shot anyways. I looked over at the gremlin and then at the hospital and a plan started to form in my head. I looked down at the dog and smiled. The dog looked at me with a look that said your an idiot.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

About thirty minutes later after searching the goo that was the dead in the parking lot I found the keys to the gremlin. I quickly positioned the vehicles and set it up like I remembered in the movies.

The whole time the dog sat their and watched me with that same look on its face.

"If you got a better ideal then I'm all ears boy." I said to it. It just sat there looking at me. What could I expect it couldn't talk and it probably did have a better ideal then me. It took me a few minutes to dig out a rock I thought would be heavy enough for the job but I did it. I cared it over set it on the floor board next to the gas pedal.

I took a peek through the bushes again to make sure everything looked the same. The dead were still wandering around the parking lot and a bunch of them were still at the entrance. If anything their were more of them. Looking back at the dog who came up behind me I said "ready boy?" he just stared at me. I shrugged my shoulders and walked back over to the vehicles. It was now or never as far as I was concern. I started the engine and lifted the rock onto the gas petal. As the engine revved up I looked in the direction of the hospital. "I hope you are still alive honey." I said to myself and shifted the gear shifter into drive.

The truck jumped away from me and tore through the bushes separating me from the main road and the hospital. It bounced over the side walk and into the street across to the next side walk. When it hit the side walk and bounced over it it turned its wheels turning it from its original course into the main parking lot and toward the back of the parking lot. The dead in the parking lot seeing it coming started to move towards it. As the truck entered the lot it side swiped a couple of cars and over some of the dead that happen to be in front of it. It keep ed going until it smashed into a fence on the other side and got high centered on a mound of dirt its wheels still turning wildly.

This had caused enough noise that all the dead in the near by vicinity including the ones at the door turned to it and started to move toward it. Some in ungainly steps others in a half run. The change in course turned out better for me because it caused the dead to go farther from the entrance then I hoped. I ran to the gremlin and jumped in stating the engine. It being a stick was the reason I used the truck instead of the car. Plus I figured that the truck could take more punishment. The only thing I really hoped for was that it would cause enough of a distraction that I could get to the front door and my wife. The dog had jumped in before me and was in the back seat. It had a very worried look on its face. I gunned the gas and tore out of the bush's heading across the street and toward the front door and away from the crash site.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

As a rule gremlins are pieces of shit, but this one seemed to have a little more power then the average ones. Bouncing (literally) across the sidewalk and into the street I could see that I wasn't noticed yet by the dead. They seemed to be totally focused on the truck and what they must of though as an easy meal inside. I smiled to my self.

Bouncing across the other sidewalk I came into the parking lot and turned toward the front doors. I could see a couple more of the dead start to come out of the hospital. Probably from the noise of the commotion outside. I slammed into them knocking them away from the entrance. Coming to a halt I grabbed the rifle and jumped out of the car. Their was only one between me and the pharmacy door. I pointed the rifle at its head and pulled the trigger. The gun went off but I didn't hit it in the head. The bullet hit its neck instead tearing a hole into it. The impact of the shot pushed it back across the hall against the wall.

The deadhead started toward me again and this time I pushed the gun up to its forehead to make sure I didn't miss. I pulled the trigger and its head disappeared. As it fell to the ground I looked around. Their was nothing else in the hall way. Ones that I hit weren't moving for witch I was grateful for. I could see that my arrival was noticed by some of the dead at the truck and they started to come toward me. I didn't have a lot of time.

I pounded on the pharmacy door yelling "Helen are you in their?" I stood back and looked out the front door to see where they were at. They were halfway across the parking lot and closing in on me. I heard a dead bolt shot back from the door in front of me and the door opened to reveal my wife standing there. When she saw me she ran over and wrapped her arms around me. It was one of the greatest feeling I ever had in my life. Nothing seemed to matter at that moment. I had my wife with me. Thats when a voice from inside the room spoke.

"Thats all nice and neat people but aren't they getting a little close for comfort?"

It was Tracy. My wife's co-worker in the pharmacy. It was also the owner of the house I had hid out in. I could never forget tits like that. I looked out side and could see that the dead were only a hundred feet from us and closing fast. I turned to my wife and her friend and said "Quick in the car!"

They both looked at the car and turned to me saying in unison "A pink gremlin?"

"No time to explain now. Just get in!" I yelled and started for the car raising the rifle and taking a few shots at the dead. I hit some but they were just body shots. My wife ran passed me and got into the car.

Tracy came up to my side and grabbed the gun from me. "where the hell did you learn to shot?" she said and then took aim three quick shots and the three front runners fell to the ground. I stared at her dumbfounded. She looked at me and said "Get in the fucking car!" I did what I was told.

Getting behind the steering wheal I shifted it in reverse. Helen got in back and Tracy got in the passenger side. I gunned it backwards and hit some of the dead that were just coming up on us. Shifting again into first I started to drive for the main road across the grass yard to the side of the hospital. Tracy would take shots at any of the dead that got to close. As soon as we were on the road I looked back at the hospital and could see several hundred deadheads were on our trail. I pressed the gas and started to pull away.

About four blocks down the road I could hear my Helen in the back scratching the dog "Did you miss mommy". The dog just snuggled up to her. Taking a look back at her I said "So honey how was your day?" Helen started to laugh and Tracy just gave me a dirty look.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

We drove the back streets of the city trying to decide what to do next. Tracy wanted to go back to her house and get her dads truck in her garage. I talked them out of it saying that all the blocks in that area were covered in zombies. I really didn't want to let her know that I had ruined the truck already. That would only bring up more questions about what I was doing in her house in the first place. I know I could of explained everything so I didn't look like some sort of perve, but I really didn't want to get into that right now.

Thats when Tracy came up with the ideal of going to her uncles house out of town. With no other ideal of our own Helen and me agreed. I drove and Tracy directed me through the back streets out of town using a map out of the glove compartment. As she gave direction I would lean over to look at the map 'but what I was really doing was looking down her blouse trying to get a look at those beautiful breast of hers. She gave me a disgusted look one time when she caught me. My wife didn't seem to notice. She was busy scratching and talking to the dog who by now was on its back across her knees in what could only be described in doggy heaven.

We made pretty good head way. Every time a dead head would get to close Tracy would shot it. If we could avoid them we would because of the limited amount of ammo we had. We only had a half a box that I had found under the seat of the truck. Every once in a while some one that was alive would drive pass us. They wouldn't stop and nether would we. They all had the same look on their faces. Complete shock with what was happening around us.

After a while we noticed that several cars and trucks were following us. We didn't know what to make of this so we just keep ed an eye on them and keep ed driving. It took us about forty minutes to get out of town. The back roads out of town were pretty clear driving. We would run across a wreck every once in a while it was getting dark so we didn't stop not wanting to take a chance. As we drove we related our story's. They had locked themselves and one other guy in the pharmacy about an hour after their shift started right after all hell broke loose in the hospital and tried to stay out of sight most of the night and day. About mid morning the guy Chad by name tried to sneak out when they thought the coast was clear to get help. With in about five minutes of him leaving he came back pounding on the door to get back in, but it was to late. The dead had swamped him before the girls could get the door open. They had been sitting at the door not knowing what to do since then until they heard me come and crash the party.

As for my part I told them of my escape from the house. And the way I made my way to the park and got the truck. I embellished it a little. It was someone else's house I sneaked into and not Tracy's and the guy in the park was a dead head and not someone with their jaw wired shut. The lady in the ally was a dead head as well that I fought off. After I was done Helen hugged me from the back seat and gave me a kiss on my neck saying that I was her knight in shining armor. Tracy just looked at me funny like she didn't believe a word I said but had no proof and just keep ed Quiet.

It was an hour out of town when Tracy said she needed to take a piss. We found a dirt road and took it. We noticed that the cars and truck following us keep ed following us down the road. About a half mile down we stopped in a wide part of the road. Tracy got out of the car and looked back at the convoy we had picked up. She walked up to the minivan right behind us with the gun leveled at the driver. I got out and followed her. I had no ideal what I would do with nothing in my hands but figured two body's were more intimidating then one and got out. As I came up to Tracy the guy in the minivan rolled his blood splattered window down.

"Why are you following us?" Tracy asked the guy. With the gun aimed at him.

The man stared at the rifle for a second and then said. "We didn't know what to do and you seemed like you knew were you were going."

Tracy's eye brow went up a little. "You saw tree people and a dog in a pink gremlin and figured they knew what they were doing?"

The man swallowed hard. "well yea!" he looked at the gremlin and continued "anyone who would drive one of those would have to know were they were going. Theirs no way you would be driving it unless you knew you could make it in it." he smiled at Tracy kind of sheepishly.

Tracy looked at me and then at the driver. "and the stupid inherited the earth." she shoved the gun into my hands and started to walk toward the bushes on the side of the road.

"where you going?" I asked

"I'm going to take a piss" she said just before she vanished into the bushes.

I looked at the guy in the van and said "Shes had a rough day."

the guy looked at me and said "yea! You think." he looked at the bushes and said. "she has some nice tits though." this brought a smack in the back of his head from the women in the passenger seat. I a summed it was his wife.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Some of the others behind us started to get out of their cars and trucks and go into the bush's. I stood there with the rifle in my hands talking to the guy in the minivan. His name was chuck and the women was his wife Kathy. They had their three kids in the back. Not one of them was older then ten. They were from out of town visiting some family. When the shit hit the fan they packed up and hit the road, but every highway out of town was blocked by wrecks and the dead. They got separated from their other family and decided to follow us after driving around for hours trying to avoid the dead.

One by one the others came up to the front of convoy to see what was going on. They all had the same kind of story of running from the dead and just latching onto the first people they thought knew what they were doing. A Pink gremlin would not tell me that we knew what we were doing but I guess to each their own. There was five vehicles behind us. The minivan, a jacked up 4x4, a ford pickup with a camper in back, and two little sedans. There was about fifteen people all together. The driver of the 4x4 I thought was a big red neck guy until they came up to me and offered their hand saying in a very feminine voice that her name was Susan.

Helen came up to us and Tracy returned from her bathroom break smoking a cigarette. The dog got out and started to sniff around. We all stood around in a circle and debated what to do. Some of them wanted to keep on going down the dirt road to see where it lead. Some wanted to go back to the regular road and get as far away as possible. Tracy suggested that they all stay their tonight because it was to dark to really see where they were going. And in the morning they could go to her uncles place about forty miles away. Helen agreed with that and because I had know Ideal what to do I agreed as well.

In the end most everyone agreed to wait till morning. They were tired, scared and hungry from running for their lives all day anyways. Two guys and a women in the pick up with the camper disagreed and wanted to keep moving. After a heated exchange between them and Tracy and the red neck girl Susan about how it was safer in a group then alone they took off. The rest of us pulled our vehicles in a kind of circle wagon formation on the dirt road. It was more of a oval then a circle since we didn't have a lot of room on the road.

We set up a watch at Tracy's request and I was the first on watch with Chuck from the minivan. I made sure Helen was as comfortable as possible in the car and went to bum a cigarette from one of the guy's in one of the cars in the back. I was smoking it in the small clearing between the cars with the rifle leaning against the car when chuck from the minivan came up to me smoking one as well.

"So what do you think?" he said as he came up to me.

I looked at him breathing out some smoke. "Think about what?" I responded. I hadn't smoked since this morning and I could feel that little dizzy buzz coming with the first drags of a smoke after not smoking for a while. It felt good.

Chuck took a drag and breathed out "About all the shit thats going on."

I looked around at the cars and and the people were with trying their best to get comfortable and bed down for the night in their cramped cars and said. "I think were totally fucked and I have know Ideal what to do about it."

"Yea! Thats about what I was thinking too." He said with a smile. We both chuckled a little.

Our guard time was for two hours and then we were to wake up the next two in line. We spent the time smoking cigarettes and talking as we peered out into the darkness. Chuck and his family were from Montana and it was his wifes sister that they were their visiting. He didn't seem to sad that they were separated from them. He never liked them anyways. I told him that Helen and me have lived here for about ten years after my company had transferred me from the other side of the state. Other then that we just talked about nothing really important. We both stayed away from the topic of why we were here now for. Nether one of us really wanted to think about it let alone talk about it, but it was on our minds. After two hours of hearing absolutely nothing but crickets and the occasional wolf call in the night we woke up the next two for guard duty and headed back to our respective cars.

Peeking into the car I could see Helen in the passenger seat sound asleep and the dog curled up in the back. I didn't know where Tracy was and didn't really care. I got into the drivers seat and leaned the seat back to try and get as comfortable as possible. My belly growled a little making me realize that the last time I ate was sometime this morning. I was really hungry. I nudged Helen a little. She moaned a little in her sleep and turned away from me. I nudged her again this time saying her name softly.

She turned to me her eyes I could see in the darkness opened. "What?" she said in a slurred sleepy voice.

"you know were Tracy went?" I asked

"she was talking to Susan when I went to sleep." she rolled over to face away from me. "she said she would crash with her so their was more room." her voice started to drift off.

That was good news for me. That at least meant that we would not be as cramped in the car sleeping as I thought we would be. I was still hungry though. I reached over and shook Helen gently. As she turned back to me with a annoyed look on her face I asked "Do you have any food? I'm starving."

"No the vending machine in the pharmacy wasn't working." she said with some sarcasm. She then rolled back and promptly started to snore very quietly. I looked out the car window and could see the two keeping guard about twenty feet from us talking quietly. I could ask them but then they probably wouldn't share if they did anyways. With a growl of my belly I made myself as comfortable as possible and went to sleep. I didn't think I could go to sleep but it overcame me faster then I thought was possible.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I was back on the beach in Mexico. Feeling the sand with my feet while sitting in a chair next to Helen. I looked over at her as I was sipping a ice cold corona. She was the most beautifully women I had ever met. Her long dark hair, brown eyes you could get lost in,and a body to kill for. She turned to me and gave me that smile that made me feel like I was thee luckiest man in the world. Then her lips parted and she said "Holy shit their dead!"

It snapped me out of my dream immediately. I looked around at a lost for where I was for a second. Helen was looking around confusingly as well.

"What was that?"she said.

I could see behind me in the rear view mirror that there was a gathering of people around one of the cars in the back. They all seemed to be peering into the car. I turned to Helen and said "stay here." and gave her a quick peak on the cheek. As I started to open the door I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over into Helen's dark brown eyes.

"Please be careful." she said to me.

I looked at her for a minute taking her in. Her hair was a mess, clothes were all rumpled and I could see some crows foots and age wrinkles on her face, she had gained some weight from when we were first married, but she was still the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I put my hand on hers and said " I will." and then I got out of the car and before I could shut the door the dog jumped out with me. I waved to Helen and made my way to the back of the line of cars thinking the whole time I would rather be on the beach.

As I came up to the car in question I could see two people in it scratching at the windows. One of the guys standing around the car Carl I thought his name was saw me coming. He turned to me shaking his head. "They must of died in the night." He looked back at the car. "I found them like this when I walked by to go to the bathroom."

I leaned down to get a better look at the two in the car. It was two older people Fred and his wife. I didn't meet his wife last night because she didn't get out of the car. Fred said she was sick and was trying to rest. I could see now that she was bitten on the arm from what I could see. She was trying her best to get out of the car by pounding on the passenger window. Fred had half his face missing and was trying to get out the drivers window.

Tracy came up to the car with Susan and peeked into the car herself. "well isn't that just the shit!" Susan said. Tracy just looked in and started to walk away with a sad look on her face.

"Well lets get it done with!" Carl said and raised his pistol up to shoot through the window and take them out.

Tracy came back in a flash and knocked the gun down. "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" She said in a low menacing voice.

Carl looked at her and then at the couple in the car. "I was just going to put them out of there misery."

"If you fire that gun You will bring any of those things in the area right to us." Tracy said pointing to the surrounding area.

We all looked around. In the early morning daylight we couldn't see much with all the bushes and little hills around us. "Then how are we suppose to take care of them?" Carl said. "Stab them in the head with a stick?"

I could tell that Tracy was getting annoyed. She was one of those people who was used to being in charge and not being questioned. She looked in the car again and her shoulders slumped a little. "We leave them be."

"We can't do that!" Carl said loudly. Many of the others shook their heads in agreement. Carl continued "We can't just let them stay like that!". Most of the others were mu mering agreement with what Carl was saying.

Tracy looked around the crowd. "I have a few questions for you all." she paused to make sure they all were paying attention. "How many rounds do you have? How many of them are out there?" she pointed to the surrounding area. She paused and then started again. "I don't like leaving them either, but the facts are we do not have enough to waste on harmless threats, and these..." she pointed to the two in the car "are no threat to us stuck in the car as they are!"

"That makes sense to me" everyone looked to me as I found myself surprised I had spoken up. I wasn't one of those people who said stuff in groups. I just sit back and listen and agree with what ever the majority thought even if it wasn't what I thought. Tracy gave me one of those no shit looks.

"That makes sense to me as well" Carl said "Even if I don't like it." All the others started to nod in agreement.

Tracy looked around at all the people and said "I'm going to my uncles house. Its about ten miles out of Packston on this side. Thats about forty miles from here. Is there any one else that wants to go?"

"Why there?" Chuck asked from behind me. I jumped a little because I didn't know he was there. He was with his wife and kids.

Tracy looked to him and then the others. "He lives on three hundred fenced in acres and is one of those people that horde food and ammo for the end of the world.

"The only place I know like that is Hornback Ranch!" said someone from the crowd.

"Thats right!" Tracy said. "Thats my uncles place."

I heard of the place and the man. Alex Hornback was the richest men around. He had made a fortune in stocks. He bought the ranch about Eight years ago and had put up a large fence to keep people out and to protect his privacy. When the economy took a dump he started to raise animals and grow food for the poor and needy. No one was in except once a week when he would bring in trucks to haul out food for the poor. Tracy being his niece would probably get us in. I raised my hand and said "I want to go!" One by one the others quickly raised their hands as well.

We all went back to our vehicles leaving the two old dead heads in the car. I felt pretty sorry for them, but what Tracy said made sense. As I got in the car Helen leaned over and gave me a peck on the check.

"Whats going on?" She asked.

"Were going to Tracy's uncles house. Its about forty miles from here.

"Thats good." She said and leaned back into her chair.

The others were starting their engines and turning around on the road and following Tracy in Susan's truck. I turned the key in the ignition and heard the engine start to crank over but not start. I tried it again and again, but to no avail. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I saw in the mirror that all the others were moving away around a corner on the road behind us. I saw that the gas gage was reading full. With a sick feeling in my stomach I reached out and tapped the gage. The needle dropped to empty. The gage was broken and we were out of gas.

"Whats wrong honey?" Helen asked. A concern look on her face.

"Were out of gas!" I said. I jumped out of the car in hopes of stopping one of the other cars for a ride but they had already gone out of site. I stared dumbly down the road. The other car with the two dead in it and us was all I saw. The two dead keep ed on pounding on the windows.

I started to scratch my head trying to figure out what to do when I heard a scream from behind me. I turned around only to see a dead head on the passenger side of the car trying to get to my wife. "Crap!" I said and took a couple of steps toward the car. Just then two more zombies came out of the bushes and made a line at me.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Looking at the car with Helen in it and then back at the zombie's I did the only thing that came to mind. I turned and ran as fast as I could into the bushes away from them. I know this seems like the coward way out but what else could I do. I didn't have the rifle, and there was no way I could take on one of them let alone three. I hoped I could get them to chase me and that I could lose them.

As I crashed through the bushes with two of them in pursuit I looked back and could see that the one by the car wasn't chasing me but stayed with the car. When I looked back in front of me all I saw was open space in front and below me. I was falling into a small ravine. As I hit the ground I started to roll to the other side. The two that were after me came up and with out hesitation flew into the ravine after me crashing down next to me in a pile.

Scrambling to my feet I started to run down the ravine away from them. About twenty feet down I looked back and could see that they were still trying to untangle themselves from each other. I started to slow down as my feet started to slip and slide over the rocks and branches on the ground. Feeling something wet run down my cheek. Placing my hand over it and taking it away I could see that it was blood. I had cut myself on my head during the fall. I came to a stop looking back at the two on the ground and then back up the ravine walls. They were about eight feet high but I might be able to crawl up the side and then defend the top from them. I took one more look down the ravine and could see that they had finely untangled themselves and were now starting for me. I turned back to the wall and started to climb.

I grabbed at some roots that were hanging over the edge and hoped that they could support my weight. I rammed my foot into the side of the wall trying to get a foot hold but slipping more then I was getting any hold. Pulling myself up to the edge of the top I felt my foot crack against a rock and knew I broke it. It was the same pain that I felt when I my high school football career ended with an injury. Ignoring the pain as best I could I reached for some more roots on the ground further up to pull myself up more when the first bunch gave away my feet slipping from their hold on the side. I barely grabbed the other roots just in time but was in a odd position to pull my self up sense my feet slipped and my body was dangling three quarters of the way over the edge of the ravine and my arms were stretched out to their max trying not to lose hold of the roots. Two things happened at once that I noticed. One was that I could hear the two dead heads moaning and stumbling toward me in the rivine and two I felt the roots I had a hold on starting to rip out of the ground.

Hanging there I was frozen in place. I couldn't pull myself up from this position and I couldn't go down to the ground. I couldn't see them but I knew they weren't more then five feet away stumbling over the rocks. Slowly I started to try and get a foot hold on the side of the dirt wall again. The roots started to give more and I started to inch back down. Then I felt a hand on my foot. I started to panic and kicked as hard as I could. The hand didn't let go but I felt myself move up a little more. I grabbed for another handful of roots with my other hand and came up with a branch. I started to fall back as the roots gave way. I went crashing down into the riven staring at the branch in my hand.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I fell back on top of the dead head that had my foot who was nice enough to brake my fall with his body. As I landed and started to roll away I felt my arm hit a rock with a crack. Having enough presents of mind I got up on one knee and looked at were they were at. The one I landed on was down and not moving and the other was about ten feet away and stumbling towards me. I pushed my self up from my knee and tried to run for it but as soon as I put weight on my foot I felt another crack in it with a yell came crashing down onto my side.

The dead head stumbled and fell as well as it seemed to be unable to move through the loose rocks and boulders very well. Looking around I saw the branch that I came down with laying next to me and went to grab it. I felt a stabbing pain going up my arm from the elbow I hit on the rock and screamed in pain.

The pain lessen a little when I stopped trying to move it and cradled it to my chest. The dead head struggled back to its feet and started to come at me again. I leaned over with my other hand and grabbed the branch. It was about five feet long and three inches thick. It was more of a large stick then branch. The dead head was standing right over me now. I swung the branch with all my might back hand and to my surprise and I'm sure the surprise of the dead head I connected with its head knocking it to the ground.

The exertion caused pain to shot through both my other arm and foot at the same time. The pain was great enough I could feel darkness to start to come over me and I was starting to pass out. I laid their for a minute trying my best not to pass out. I was also waiting for the dead head to jump on me any second. When I felt I wasn't going to pass out I looked up at where the dead head fell to and could see that it was laying on the ground twitching. The other one hadn't moved from where I landed on it.

I pushed myself up and gingerly put some weight on the hurt foot. I could feel the pain going up my leg from my foot, but thought if I tried to keep the weight off it the pain would be mane gable. Looking back over at the dead head on the ground twitching I could see that the side of its head was cracked open. It wasn't enough to kill it but it seemed it was enough to keep it from moving normal. Normal for these things being relative. The other one I could see that my weight when I fell on it had crushed its head into a rock. Leaning over I picked up a rock about the size of a softball and hoped over to the one that was twitching and threw it point blank at its head. The rock smashed into the opening on the side of the head and into the brain inside. Grayish matter and blood gushed out of it and it laid still.

Looking to the wall again I knew their was no way I was going to scale it. I turned back down the ravine and started to hop on one foot down it looking for a way out. This was turning out to be yet another bad day. Every hop brought more pain into my arm and leg.

It was about another twenty feet down when I came across a section of wall that was only about five feet high and decided to try to climb it. I was able to put enough weight on my hurt foot to be able to to lift my other foot and wedge it into a small hole in the side of the wall and push myself up and over the edge of the ravine. I rolled over on top and closed my eyes for a second trying to focus the pain away from me. It didn't work to well.

With that being a failure I pushed myself up back on my feet and with a look back down into the ravine started to make my way back to the car hoping that Helen was OK. Thats when I heard the gun shot form the direction of the car. Or at least what I thought was the direction of the car. I started to hobble as fast as I could in that direction.


	21. Chapter 21

21

Coming through the bushes I stumbled into the road. I tripped and fell to the ground hitting my hurt elbow causing me to scream in pain. As I rolled on the ground a small thud and a puff of dirt caught my attention. Mainly because of the gun shot from behind me. I held completely still staring at were the bullet hit the ground by my head.

"O my god!" I heard Helen yell behind me. The dog started to bark.

I rolled over to see her drop the rifle and run over to me. Before I could say stop she jumped on top of me hugging me and trying to kiss me. This jarred my injuries and I howled in pain. Helen didn't seem to notice and keep ed on hugging me sobbing the whole time as I tried to dislodge myself from her. "Helen! Get off me!" I finely yelled pushing her away from me when the dog came over and started to lick my face..

She stopped sobbing for a second giving me a hurt look until she saw me holding my arm. "Are you OK?" she asked with concern coming over her face all of a sudden. She reached over to take my arm. "You weren't bitten were you?"

"No. I just smashed it on some rocks back there trying to loose those freaks back their." I replied with a grimace letting her take and look at my arm. "I also hurt my foot." as I pointed to the injured foot. She dropped the arm and started to look at my foot. I wasn't to sure what she was looking at since I had boots on. The dog seeing there were no treats wondered of to sniff at the bushes I had come out of.

"Your elbow is starting to swell pretty bad." she said absentmindedly as she picked my foot up and grabbed the toe of the boot getting a yelp of pain from me. "Quit your belly aching! I need to see what damage their is." she untied my boot and yanked my boot off making me yelp again.

"Do you have to be so rough?" I asked through gritted teeth.

She stopped prodding my foot and looked up at me sheepishly "Sorry! I am not thinking straight." She set my foot down and sat down beside me. I followed her stair to the car about twenty feet from where we were at. The dead head that was attacking her was hanging half out half in the passenger side window. She looked to me "after you ran off with those things after you." she stopped to wipe a tear in her eye. "I didn't know what to do." she looked at the car. "He keep ed on pounding on the window trying to get in."

I felt a tear starting to form in my eye, I reached over and pulled her to me and into a hug. "It's alright!" I said "He cant get to you anymore."

She pulled away and yelled "I thought you abandoned me!" she had a angry look in her eyes. "I thought you left me here to die!" she looked down to the ground. "I know there was nothing you could of done with the others there, but It's what I felt!" I could see tears dropping to the ground from her face. "I thought you had abandoned me!" she said again. "And then when it broke the glass and reached in after me" she paused and I just sat there and listened "I pulled the trigger of the gun. I don't know how it ended up in my hands. It was just there."

I leaned closer trying to take her into my arms again. She pulled away as if I had hit her.

She looked at me with tears streaming down her face. "after I shot it I got out of the car on the other side." her eyes went back to the ground. "I saw you come stumbling out of the bushes and fired the gun again."

I patted her on the shoulder. "It's OK. You didn't know I was one of them."

She looked at me again. " I don't think I cared if you were one of them. I was angry that you just abandoned me." the look on her face was that of anguish.

I just looked at her in complete stupidity.

"Could you ever forgive me?" she said to me.

Looking at her I couldn't believe that she wanted to kill me. I loved her, but then I thought I haven't been the greatest of husbands in a long time and she deserved better then me. I looked down at the ground and then back at her. "I haven't been the best of husbands for a long time." I told her taking her by the chin. "But I promise you I will be better and that I wasn't abandoning you here. I was just trying to get them away from you."

She was looking into my eyes again with a look of both fear and sadness. "I know, but could you ever forgive me?"

Looking at her I fell even more in love with her then I have ever been before. "What's there to forgive. I deserved what I got and much more." I pressed my lips to hers. Her arms went around my neck and mine around her waist. As we fell back to the ground my arm hit a small rock on the ground and a little yelp of pain came out of my mouth.

We laid there for a while just taking comfort in just being together. After a while we separated and sat up. She wiped at the dry tears on her face and I looked around at our situation. We were alone on the road. There was no sound around us witch I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. Helen got up off the ground and then helped me up.

With her help I made my way over to the car. The dead head lay there in the car the back of its head splattered all over the inside of the car. I looked over at Helen and said with a smile "nice shot."

"I try." she replied with a grin.

Looking around I spied the old couples car behind us. "If you could help me get this thing out of the car we can siphon the gas from that one and get out of here." I said pointing to the car behind us.

"Siphon the gas with what?" she said. "We don't have a hose!"

I scratched my chin and shrugged. "we'll figure out how." I said and started to pull the body out of the window the best I could with a bum arm. It came out and landed on the ground with a thump face up. It was some white guy with a half gray beard. There was a hole the size of a quarter in the middle of its head. He lay there staring up at nothing. I took note that he had gray blue eyes. The same as me. I looked up to find Helen standing over by the other car looking in at the two old people in it. "Hey! Honey! Can you give me a hand in finding something we could siphon the gas with?"

She looked at me and smiled. "Why don't we take this car instead?"

I took a deep breath. "Because there are two dead people in it that want to eat us." I find my self saying things the last two days that I would never thought of saying before.

Helen smiled back at me and opened the driver side door before I could say anything. She stood back as the old man tumbled out onto the ground. She raised the rifle and put it to the back of his head pulling the trigger. His brain (or more to the point brain matter) came out all over the dirt road. The old lady came tumbling out after and before she could get up Helen pointed the rifle at her and pulled the trigger.

With both of them dead for good Helen stepped over them and got in the car. As I stared dumbly as she started the car and drove it over to where I was standing. She rolled the automatic window down and said "Are you coming?" I looked down at the dog who had came up and sat next to me. He had a look that said what the fuck.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I got in the car with the dog and looked at her. "So where to?"

She just smiled. "Lets try and find Tracy's uncle house."

I leaned back in the car "I know were it is. Lets go." as I pointed with my thumb back down the road. Helen turned the car around and started to drive down the road. I looked through the glove compartment seeing if there was any thing of use. There was nothing so I reached in the back to go through the old peoples stuff.

"What are you doing?" Helen asked.

"I am seeing if theres anything we can use or eat back here." I said as I was forced to crawl in the back to get to more stuff. I hit my foot on the front seat and promptly yelped in pain.

Helen looked back at me. "O! Just take it like a man."

I just gave her a dirty look and keep ed on searching. I Finley found a candy bar in one of the bags with adult diapers. It was a mars bar. I hated mars bars but what could you do if you were hungry. I popped back up from behind the seat and showed Helen. "you want to share?"

She looked at it and said "half and half?"

"Of course. Half of everything is yours right!" I smiled at her and unwrapped it and broke it half giving her one half and stuffing the other half in my mouth. She just took baby bites of her half. I was just about to go looking for more when Helen jammed on the brakes. I slammed into the back of the front seat jarring my arm and foot causing me to yell in pain. Before I could say any thing I looked out the front windshield. Tracy and the others were coming down the road.

As they pulled up by us she rolled down her window looking at the car we were in. "So what happen to you guy's?" she said.

Helen just smiled and said. "we wanted a new car." I looked out the rear passenger window and smiled the dog barked.

"right!" was Tracy's reply with a look that said it all. She nodded to Susan who still looked like a red neck truck driver to me and they turned around and started to drive back down the road. Followed by everyone else. We fell in behind everyone.

About a half an hour later we were back on the main road driving about fifty miles a hour. Every once in a while we would go by a wreak on the side of the road. The first wreak we came by we slowed down but a dead head came out from behind it and tried to get in one of the cars in front of us. As it came up to the door we heard a gun shot and then its head exploded falling back to the ground. We didn't slow down or stop after that.

About thirty miles down the road we were forced to slow down as the wreak we came up on was spreed all over the road. It wasn't until we were right up on it we realized that it was the three people from last night with the truck and canopy. The truck was on its side on the right side of the road and the canopy was broken up and spreed across the left side of the road. Susan in the 4X4 aimed the truck toward the canopy and started to push it out of the way. As it was moving to the side the back door opened and out popped a women or more like half a women. She was cut in half. She started to crawl toward the closes car blood smeared across her face and her intestines dragging out behind her.

I could see the people in front of use put their heads down in what looked like they were puking. I held it in the best I could not wanting to give up any of the food I had eaten. Helen shrugged and reach over and grabbed what was left of her Mars bar on the dash and popped it into her mouth. The car that the half women was crawling window rolled down and a barrel of a rifle came out. With one shot the women's developed a hole in her head and she collapsed face down on the pavement.

The way was cleared and we started to drive around the wreak. As we came up on the truck we could see that the driver was still in his seat trying to get us. He was still buckled in. Helen waved to him and keep ed on driving.

Another ten miles down the road Tracy took a turn down a dirt road and we could see that it was some sort of drive way. We couldn't see any house passed the bushes but we could see smoke in the distance I figured it was about a mile away. Sure enough about a mile down we came up to a large fence with a gate in front of it. There was several people to the side tossing what at first I thought was logs on a fire only to realize it was body's.

As we came up to the gate several of the people in front picked up guns and stood in front of the gate. Tracy drove up to it and stopped. She started to talk to one of the men a big Mexican looking guy, and after a few minutes she got out and started to walk down the line of cars saying something to each car. When she got to us she looked in and said. "where here but we have to get out and strip down so they can make sure none of use are infected."

Tracy walked away from us and started to take her shirt off. The big Mexican in the front just looked on passively. Helen looked at me and said. "Well lets get this done." and then she got out of the car ans started to walk toward the front striping as she went. The dog nudged me and when I looked at it it had a look that said this should be good. I think I was starting to dislike my smart ass dog.


	23. Chapter 23

23

I started to get out of the car. It was harder then it seemed. We had been in it so long that my muscles started to scream in protest. My arm hurt like hell and my foot felt like a water melon. I had to take my time getting out due to the pain. I looked up at the big Mexican in the front of the line and saw him taking a interest in me. I realized he was holding his gun in a unfriendly way and it was directed at me. Something in me said it was the way I was moving so I smiled and raised my good arm as I limped toward him. My wife and several others were already being inspected half naked. The dog jumped out of the car and started to sniff around and pee on the front tire.

The Mexican motioned with his head to the side of the road where some bushes were. As I looked another man this one short and with a dark complexion of some one who has been out in the sun to long but not burnt yet came out with a rifle pointed at me. He did not have a happy face on him.

"Thats far enough mister!" he said with a deeply accented voice I could not place.

I raised my hands in a jester I hoped he would not take as aggressive. "Whats the problem sir?" I asked.

He kind of looked me over and said "We just don't want to take any chances mister and you don't look so well."

I realized they thought I might have been bitten. And with a little panic in my voice since I didn't want them to shot me were I stood I said "I'm not bitten or one of them if thats what you think." I felt the dog rub up against me but I didn't look down to it.

The guy's eyes looked down at the dog but quickly came back up to look at me. "We still don't want to take any chances mister. Start to strip right were you stand."

I heard a distinctive metallic click and knew that he was ready to blow my head off any second. I started to get undress as fast as I could. I could feel myself starting to sweat like a stuck pig. My shirt came off first with no problem, but when I looked down at my pants I realized I would have to take my shoes off and with the swollen foot I wasn't to sure I could do it.

"What are you waiting for mister? Hurry up!" the man said.

By this time I could see out of the corner of my eye the big Mexican coming my way with his gun pointed in my general direction. I plopped down on the ground and started to untie my shoes, but was in such a hurry I pulled the wrong string and instead of a bow knot I had a knot. I looked up at the man in front of me and half smiled.

"What is taking so long Ralph?" the Mexican said as he came up to us. His eyes looking me over.

Ralph just looked at me as I was struggling to get my shoes off of my fat foot "He seems to be having a problem taking his shoes off. Pedro"

Pedro watched me as I struggled a little more and then reached behind his back and pulled out a very large bowie knife. This caused me to stop what I was doing and stare at it with a parallelized panic on my face. Pedro seeing the look on my faced just smiled and then reached down with the knife and with a flick of his wrist severed the laces.

I breathed out in relief and fell back onto the ground. Pedro kicked me in the side not to gently "finish getting undress now. We don't want to be out here if more of them come." he stood back about three feet from me.

With a grunt of pain I pulled my shoe off and then the other shoe, followed by my pants. Pedro inspected my body like a side of beef ordering me to turn over on the ground. It was kind of degrading to me but there wasn't anything I could do about it with him and Ralph holding guns over me.

Pedro got to my hurt arm he paid close attention to the bruises going from my shoulder to my elbow witch was the size of a orange. "looks like you got in a little bit of a scrape!" he noted.

"Yea! I hit it on some rocks." I said to him in a nervous voice.

"shut up!" he said back to me in a matter of fact way and continued his inspection. When he got to my foot he picked it up to take a closer look and I screamed in pain. "looks like you broke it." he dropped it back to the ground getting another yelp of pain from me. "Get dressed. Your fine."

"Thanks!" I said as I started to gather my clothes together.

Pedro noticed the dog for the first time and reached out and scratched its ear. "Whats the dogs name?" he asked.

"Moe! My names Kyle Webber." I said as I struggled to get my pants back on.

"Didn't ask your name just the dog's" Pedro said and then started to walk back toward the gate in the front of the cars.

I finished getting my pants on and saw Ralph offer his hand to help me up. I took it and as I got up off the ground with a little pain said "Hes a pleasant guy now isn't he."

Ralph smiled "When you get to know him he is. At first meeting hes kind of an ass though."

I smiled at him and he just waved and started to head back to the gate. My wife came up to me from the front tying her scrub bottoms and smiling at me. "I think that one guy over there likes me!" she pointed with her thumb over her shoulder to the group of men at the front gate. She has always been self conscious of her looks.

Peering over at the group I could see Pedro giving orders and the gate start to open. "What are we suppose to do?" I asked.

"just follow the others." she said to me and got in the drivers side seat to start the car.

I hobbled over to the other side and crawled in followed by the dog who jumped into my lap and then into the back seat. The cars started to move and we followed them in. As we entered the gate it was like night and day. While the outside bushes were wild and chaotic the inside was a large well manicured lawn with hedges on either side and trees that looked perfect. As the convoy continued we crested a small hill and came into site of the main house. It had to be the larges house I had ever seen. A mansion of huge proportions.

"Look at the honey!" my wife said as we stared in aw at the place.

It was surrounded by a brick wall about five feet high from what I could see and had a large open square in the front of the house. As the iron gate that looked like intertwined leaves opened up before us we could see that the front of the house rose up from the ground in what was some of the most beautiful stone work I had ever seen. It reminded of me of those old British palaces you would see in the old movies.

In the court yard another man was directing the cars to park in different areas so everyone could get in. there were a lot of others there. They all seemed to be doing something. As we stopped another man came up and told us we need to get out for a meeting. My wife and me looked at each other and shrugged. We opened our doors and started to get out. The dog tried to get out with me but I quickly put my hand on his collar and forced him to stay in the car shutting the door behind me. He just sat the looking out the side window as Helen and me with an arm around her shoulder for support hobbled away. The look said it all. What the Fuck.


	24. Chapter 24

24

We were herded into a group in front of the large entrance to the mansion by the men in the square. A few of us asked what was going on and the only answer we got was Alex wants to talk to you. I bummed a cigarette from one of the men with a gun and lite it up. It was a menthol but beggars can't be choosers now could they. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned half around to see Chuck standing there with one of his kids attached around his leg.

"Whats up Kyle!" he said with a smile. "thought we might of lost you back on the road and then at the gate."

I smiled back at him even though I didn't like to be reminded of how close I was to dieing again and said "Yea! I didn't think I would make it either."

Chuck looked like he was about to say something when I say his eyes get distracted behind me towards the front door. I looked over and could see Tracey and Pedro assisting a guy coming out of the front door. He wasn't elderly probably only 50 at the most, but his legs didn't seem to work very good. His face was weather worn, but he had a intelligent look in his eyes as he looked at the group in front of him.

"Good day to you! Welcome to my home." He called in a strong voice. "Can every one hear me OK?" he looked around and no one raised there hand but a few shuffled closer to him. Smiling he said "My name is Alex Hornbeck and I don't have a lot of information for you other then what ever is happing out there is just getting worst. We lost TV and phones yesterday, but have some radio contacts around the country."

Someone in the back raised there hands and yelled "What about the government? Where are they?"

"The last thing we heard is that the military is being put on full alert, and the president and congress or at least whats left of them is being moved to a secure location." Alex called back. "As far as I know the virus or whatever it is has spreed across the country and the world. The only places that it is not is Australia who quarantine themselves with the first out break and North Korea who started to shot any one trying to get in there country."

"Go figure decedents of cons and psychopaths are going to come out of this looking good." Chuck mumbled behind me.

I snickered to myself and then went back to trying to listen to Alex. "with the addition of you we have about two hundred on the property. And while we have enough food to last us for a while we need to be careful with it. We do not know when help will arrive and I ask everyone do their part in helping conserve it." A hand went up in the back and Alex pointed to it.

The hand belonged to Carl. "What about fuel, shelter, and medicine? And whats to stop those freaks from coming here and getting to all of us"

Alex nodded his head. "those are good questions. We have shelter whither it be the mansion, employee homes, or the barns. It may be a little cramped but we will find a place for everyone. We have limited medicine that we will give out on a needed basis only, and a five hundred gallon tank of diesel fuel out by the barns." He looked at the crowd for a second and then continued "As for whats keeping them out there. This property is surrounded by fence and cameras. Pedro here" he waved to the big Mexican. "Is in charge of security and we may enlist the help of some of you to help patrol that fence. As for now you are probably hungry tired and dirty please come in and we will do what we can to take care of that now." with that Alex stopped talking and went back inside with the help of Tracey and Pedro. We all followed him in.

As Helen and me squeezed by the press of people going in with a few people stepping on my bad foot causing me to yelp in pain Tracy came up to us and grabbed Helen. "We will need your help Helen."

"Why do you need my help?" Helen replied with a little look of surprise.

"You have the most medical training here!" Tracey replied.

"Theres no doctor or nurse!" Helen said

Tracy nodded her head. "We have Tony who was a combat medic in Viet Nam."

"You mean?" Helen said.

"Yep! Other then my basic knowledge with the pharmacy your two years of school for nursing makes you the most qualified doctor we have." Tracy said with a smile and pulled Helen over to a table set up in the main room with a old guy peering at the different medicine and bandages spreed over it.

I was pulled over to another table that had food being set up on it given a china dish. I marveled at it never having held a china dish before when food was pilled on the plate and I was pushed on down the line that was being formed. I sat down against a far wall and started to eat. My plate held scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and hash browns. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I smelled it and put the first piece of bacon in my mouth. It was yesterday the last time I ate any thing. I dug in and started to eat with my hands ignoring the fork that was on the plate.

I was just cleaning my plate when I noticed a pair of legs in front of me. I looked up from my plate to see the old guy I had seen before at the medicine table staring at me. I smiled "What can I do for you?"

"My names tony and I was asked to help you to one of the rooms and get you cleaned up and take a look at your foot and arm." He held out his hand.

I looked at his offered hand dumbly at first and then took it. "Thanks." I said as he helped me up and then supported me as I hobbled my way to the hallway on the other end of the room. A small part of my brain was wondering what the dog was doing. Probably being angry that hes not with us.


	25. Chapter 25

25

Tony dropped me off in a guest room as he called it. It was as large as half my house. After looking around in wonder I made myself to the bathroom and turned on the water. I stripped down and got in turning the heat of the water up until I could barely stay in it. After the day or so it was the greatest feeling ever to feel the water run over me. I scrubbed myself as clean as I could paying close attention to my arm and foot which looked like a water melon now that it was out of my shoes. It hurt to touch it.

After I got out I grabbed a towel and rapped it around myself and then another for my head. I limped my way into the other room and looked at the bed. The dog was laying on it sound a sleep. "What the fuck?" I said as I hobbled up to the bed. I didn't remember bringing him here.

"I brought him up at the request of you wife." Tony said as he came into the room his arms full of bandages and bottles. "Please sit on the bed so I can take a look at you."

I sat down on the edge and let him start to probe my arm. As he went through his examination I asked questions and he answered them as he went about his business of bandaging me up. He had been a ranch hand on the ranch for the last ten years. Alex hired him after he got fired at his last job for having a mental break down in the office. Something to do with the war in nam he said. He said he was happy here and that he couldn't ask to work for a better person then Alex. His family was living here as well as half the employees. I was getting the feeling that they had a loyalty to him that went beyond the standard employee employer loyalty. He talked of him in a almost reverent way. It made me a little uncomfortable.

After he was done with checking me over he gave me some ibuprofen and told me to get some sleep before dinner. He then got up and left without saying a word. As far as I could tell everyone that worked here was a little off. I didn't really care as I laid back on the bed and its softness enveloped me and I fell asleep. The last thing I remember is the dog cozying up to me and starting to snore.

Sometime later I was woken up by Helen who after helping with all the aches and pains as she called it came up and showered. After witch she woke me up with a kiss on my neck. I smiled and held her to me and we just laid there not saying a word to each other. Just happy to be alive and in what seemed to be a safe place.

After a while she sat up and said "We need to get dressed." she got off the bed "dinners going to be served in about a half an hour."

As I sat up I noticed that a pile of neatly folded cloths by my side. I didn't remember any one coming in the room. The dog was gone, and Helen had disappeared into the bathroom to get dressed. I shrugged and started to get dressed as well. The clothes they brought fit a little tight but not to bad. The boots I found on the ground by the bed were not a match set in terms of size. One was my foot size the other was four times my foot size. Someone had though about my swollen foot when getting me some boots.

Even with the larger boot it still hurt to get it over my foot. After I was done Helen came out of the bathroom dressed in a sun dress of light pink and yellow flowers and gave me a peck on the check. "Lets go! Will be late." she said as she took my hand and dragged me out of the room.


	26. Chapter 26

26

We came down into a dinning room that was surprisingly small for the size of the house and what I saw of the rest of the rooms. It had a table set for eight and several people busy laying dishes and plates of food on it my mouth started to water a little. Alex was sitting in one of the side seats with Tracy and Pedro on either side reading some papers in his hand. Pedro just stared at me and Helen with no interest while Tracy smiled big at Helen. Susan the one that looked like a red neck trucker to me was sitting by Tracy looking uncomfortable.

Alex noticed us and smiled. He set aside the papers he was reading and said "Come in! Come in!" in a cheerful voice and waved us to some chairs across from him. We thanked him and sat in the chairs.

"Well I think everyones here. Lets eat." Alex said and reached over and started to scoop up some mashed potatoes out of a bowl in front of him. Everyone else started to do the same. Helen and me dished ourselves up and started to eat. There was no conversation on the table for the first ten minutes as everyone ate. It was one of those uncomfortable times that you get so I just keep ed my head down and ate shoveling food into my mouth until I felt a elbow from Helen in my side. I looked up and smiled a little and started to eat slower. No one seemed to notice.

Alex finally broke the silence. "So Tracy says that she works with you Helen Isn't it?"

Helen being caught with some food in her mouth looked at Tracy and swallowed. "Yes! We have been working together for about three years now."

"I remember her talking about you during Christmas dinner a few years ago." Alex smiled. "She seemed said that you weren't a lesbo like her."

I choked on my drink I was drinking so did Tracy. Pedro just chuckled.

"Uncle Alex!" Tracy said after she stopped choking with a few pats on her back from Alex.

Alex just laughed. "Everyone always thinks I am inappropriate." with a side long look at Tracy "especially family." He leaned into the table like he was going to say something secret but said it in a normal voice. "I don't know why she cares shes got Susan over here." at witch time Susan turned a deep red.

"Uncle will you stop! You are embarrassing everyone!" Tracy said again.

Alex looked at everyone on the table and smiled as he pointed at Pedro. "Not Pedro here! I don't think I ever found a way to embarrass this big dumb ass Mexican here."

"And I doubt you ever will Sir!" Pedro said with a smile. And then proceeded to shovel food in to his mouth.

Alex looked at him for a second. "You eat like a pig sometimes. Do you know that."

"What do you expect. I'm a big dumb ass Mexican. Remember." Pedro said between mouthfuls. He finished up and wiped his face and then stood up. "I have to go and make sure the guards are in place for the night and everyone else has a place to stay."

"What ever!" Alex said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Pedro patted Alex's head like a dog and started to leave when he leaned over Tracy's shoulder. "It's a good thing you came, because I would of killed him by now." he said with a smile of fondness toward Alex. And then he left the room. Alex went on eating in much the same way Pedro did acting like he didn't hear him as he left.

The rest of dinner went quietly with little conversation. Mostly small talk between Tracy and Alex. He didn't seem to concern and very little was said about what was happening in the rest of the world. It was almost like it never happened and we were just guest at some guys house for dinner. At the end of dinner we were told because of Helen's background in medicine we would be staying in the room that we were using before as the main house would be used as headquarters. And that since I had a bad foot I could help out around the Kitchen since everyone was expected to help out around the ranch.

Alex got up and started to pick up dishes and shuffle them off to a door that as it swung open I could see that it was a Kitchen. I picked mine up with Helen's and started to hobble after him when Tracy stopped me with a hand. "No. its his time alone now."

I looked at her wondering what the hell she was talking about. She just said "For some reason or another he likes to wash the dishes. Its like his relaxing time or something. Go ahead and head up toward your room and go to sleep. You will be woken up when its time to start breakfast."

I looked to the door and then back at Tracy. "OK!" I set the plates down and with Helen at my side we hobbled back to the room. When we got there the dog was back on the bed and it looked like he had a bath because all his fur was wet and I could smell that wet dog smell. He seemed happy and pampered and the bed looked really comfortable to me. I laid back down as Helen went into the bathroom. I had to push the dog over who was hogging the whole bed. I thought that this had been the weirdest two days of my life and then I knew no more as I fell asleep.


	27. Chapter 27

27

I was being chased. I couldn't see who it was. There were to many bushes in the way for me to see more then a glimpse. All I heard was low moaning and the movement of the brush around me. I didn't know what to do. I started to panic, my breathing getting heavier. I couldn't see them but I knew they were there. I had to get out of here some how. I started to run when a decomposing hand came out of the bushes and grabbed my arm pulling me down into the bushes.

I woke up screaming at the top of my lungs. A man was standing to my side with one hand on my arm and the other with a flashlight in my face. I stopped screaming only to realize I wasn't really screaming but gasping for air. The room was dark with the only light coming from the flashlight. I looked at the large guy to my side. All I could see was his silhouette, but I could tell he was a large man. Not tall but fat.

He leaned over me and whispered " Mr. Weathers. Its time to get up and start your day." he paused to let that seep into my brain and then continued. "I was told you are the new helper in the Kitchen. My names Carl and its nice to meet you."

My confusion started to fad away as I was remembering everything that had gone on. And with a resided breath I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and set my feet on the ground. Expecting the floor to be cold I was surprised that it was slightly warm to the touch. Carl noticing my look said that it was heated floors and that they were standard around the house, and that Alex hated cold feet. I shrugged and told him I would be right down and started to get dressed in the clothes I had on the night before. My foot felt better then yesterday and was only half as swollen as it was, and my arm only tingled a little. Its amazing what a little sleep will do for a person.

After getting dressed I leaned over and kissed Helen on the neck and whispered I loved her as I stood up. She smiled in her sleep and curled up into a ball in the middle of the bed. I noticed the dog was on the end of the bed sound asleep on its back with its tongue hanging out reaching to the sheets. I smiled at that and then made my way down to the kitchen to start my new job. It couldn't be worst then putting screw A into hole B all day like my last job could it. Cook a few eggs, and bacon and make a few sandwiches. I noticed the clock on the side table said three in the morning. Well getting up even early was not a positive thing though.

Getting to the Kitchen was a little bit of a choir. I got lost in the dimness of the place and had to ask a woman walking by for directions. She said its common to lose oneself in the house when they first come here. She escorted me to the Kitchen and then said all you have to remember is follow the orange marks on the tiles of any hall way and it will lead you to the main hall and then any room in the house is only a accessible from there. I looked down and could see a orange mark on the floor at a junction of two hallways they were barely noticeable unless you were looking for them. When I looked up to say thanks she was gone. Thinking that was strange I went into the kitchen.

A large man that could only be Carl was at the stove top stirring something in a large pot that had steam coming from the top of it. I walked in and said hello. He turned to me and greeted me with a cheery "How Ya doing". And then he told me to grab a knife and start to peel potatoes on the table in the corner. I nodded and walked over to find a knife and several large potato bags on the ground by the table. I cut open the first bag and pulled out a potato and started to peel away. After I got through the first ten potato's I asked how many do I need to do.

Carl didn't even look over his shoulder as he was shoving something into the oven. "O! I would say four will be good for today."

I looked down at the ten I had done and said I think I did to many. He came over and looked at my handy work and said "No! Four bags not four potatoes. We have about two hundred to feed." He laughed and clapped me on my back and went back to what he was doing.

I looked at the ten potatoes and then at the bags on the ground. Not saying anything I grabbed the next potato and started to peel away.

Working in the Kitchen was harder then I thought at first. After peeling potatoes for a couple of hours I was set to cutting them up in small squares and then washing them off. Carl came over and seasoned them and then shoved them in the oven. After a while he started to talk about nothing at first, but he didn't stop talking giving me new things to do in between story's. At first I was kind of annoyed with him but as I listen to him some of his story's were kind of cool. And they distracted me from the work.

We were the only ones in the Kitchen constantly. Every once in a while someone would come in to pick up something or drop something off. Sometimes it would be already cooked food. Carl told me that it was coming from the other houses. Apparently there were several houses on the property for employees. And with all these guest they were asked to help out with the cooking. We were in charge of eggs, hash browns, and bacon during breakfast and sandwich meat during lunch. He would stick around for the dinner shift and I could have the second half the day off after lunch.

As he set me up with cleaning up the dishes he finished up the food and had people come and get it to serve he told me what was going on. It started a couple of days ago. Alex had come to him and told him to go to town and start to buy up all the food he could and handed him his personal credit card. Carl was a little weirded out about this. When he went shopping for the ranch Pedro always went with him and paid for everything, but this time he was to grab a couple of guys on the ranch and take the big flat bed truck and do it himself.

When he got two guys to help and the truck they headed out, but before they got to the gate Alex stopped them and told them that he didn't care if they used Wal-Mart if thats what it took to get as much food as they could. That was stranger to because Alex hated Wal-Mart for some reason. As they left he noticed that Pedro was organizing a group of men outside the gate as went by. He didn't know what was going on but orders were orders.

In town everything seemed normal to him. Everywhere he went some people were a little confused as Carl picked up everything on the shelves and bought it with the credit card and loaded it on the flat bed. He did notice some of the other workers on the ranch in town. They seemed to be buying up other things. As he drove by a seed company he noticed a ranch truck parked out front loaded with bags of what looked like seeds. It took about four hours to buy and load the truck, but when they were done they headed back to the ranch.

When he got to the ranch he noticed that outside the gate along the fence the brush was cleared back twenty feet from the fence on either side going down the fence line. He could see crews working in the distance. As he came through the gate he found that the court yard was filled with cars and trucks. He recognized a lot of them as employee's family's. When he got back into the house and told Alex that he was done. Alex asked if he had any family not living on the property. Other then his wife and two kids that lived with him in one of the houses all his family were either dead or lived out of state. Alex told him to get a hold of them and tell them to come here. And then told him to go out and get more food.

It was like that for two days. Carl had made about a dozen trips to town, every time he came back there was more stuff brought into the ranch. Two trucks of cows, one of pigs, a few more horses, and several loads of hay. As well as a few hundred chickens and building equipment.

On the second day Carl was worried and called his family out of state and told them to come there. They hadn't made it yet. And then on the third day all hell broke loose in the world and the gates were shut. As everyone listen or watched the world fall apart Alex promised that they would pull through. And then a few stragglers came in from the outlining areas. At first they just let them in. and then one guy was bitten and made it in. by the time they could put him down he had infected several others. After that anyone wanting to come in were searched for infection. Any infected were shot and burned. You guys were the last ones to come through. I heard earlier that another group of people were on their way.

I listen to the story and then asked. "How do they know someone is coming?".

Carl smiled. "This is a three hundred and fifty acre fenced in ranch, but Alex owns all the land around it for miles. He has cameras set up all around to keep an eye on anyone coming here. Its not one of those things thats common knowledge"

"Why so much land?" I asked.

"He likes his privacy. And hes got the money to provide it."

"I don't know why he wanted to bring everyones family here. I mean thats a lot more mouths to feed. And in a time like this you would think you would want to protect what you have." I said offhandedly.

Carl stopped what he was doing and came over to me. "Other then Tracy he doesn't have any family. He sees his workers as his family. And by extension their family. And above everything else family is everything to him." Carl looked me in the eye. "It would be good if you remember that. Everyone of his workers owes their lives to him for one reason or another. There is nothing we wouldn't do for him."


	28. Chapter 28

28

After breakfast was done we ate a quick meal and then I was set to doing the dishes. Carl continued to stir what ever was in the big pot on the stove and make arrangements for the up coming lunch. He started to pull large chunks of meats out of the refrigerator he had put there the night before to defrost and cut them on the kitchen slicer into lunch meat. I was preoccupied with what he had said to me and was wondering just who this Alex guy really was to get that kind of loyalty from his workers.

Being preoccupied with my thoughts and the mountain of dishes in front of me I didn't here the radio at first. Carl did and went over to the counter where he had it plugged in and picked it up.

"This is Carl! what's up John! You not like your breakfast or something?" He said into it.

I stopped what I was doing to listen to the conversation.

John the guy apparently on the other end of the radio came back. He sounded a little panicked. "No! Fat ass. Get you gun and go to the front someone busted through the front gate."

Carl dropped the radio onto the counter and ran over to the closet by the oven. He opened it and withdrew a shot gun and pistol he had stored in there. As he turned around he said. "We got trouble Kyle!" and tossed me the pistol.

As it sailed through the air I pulled my hands out of the soapy water to catch it. I missed and it went into the sink with a splash. I immediately reached in and fished it out. When I did I turned around to only see Carl going out the side door to the Kitchen. I followed him out.

The door lead to the outside of the mansion, and what looked like a loading lock. I thought it was a little weird to have a loading dock on the side of the mansion but didn't say anything. Carl was in a full run and for a guy his size he was pretty fast. I had to run to catch up. My hurt foot screamed with every step I took, but I keep ed it in.

As I rounded the side of the house I could see Carl and several others with Pedro in the front parking lot. They were all armed with guns and talking to each other. As I came up to them none of them seemed to notice me. I looked in the direction that they seemed to be taking about. It was the road we had come down yesterday. They were saying somebody had stopped at the front gate and refused to get out of the car and then gunned it through the gate breaking it down.

Pedro was on a radio telling someone to get some men up there now to close and repair the gate. The others were spreading out so they wouldn't be in a clump of people. Everyone was looking up the road to where the car would be coming from.

A few minutes later over the small hill came a car speeding. Everyone stopped talking and raised there weapons. I raised mine even though I didn't know if it would work after being submerged in the water. As it got closer I could tell it was a old Honda. I could see one person in the driver seat and no one else.

It came screaming into the parking lot. Just as it went past the small gate the brakes were applied and the car screeched and went into a slide. It came to a stop around the area that I had parked the car last night. I wondered for a second where the car went. And then everyone was surrounding the Honda with their weapons pointed at the driver.

The driver side window was busted out and the man inside raised his hands. "You guys have got to help me!" he yelled.

Pedro moved up slowly with his rifle in hand pointing at the guys head. "Get the fuck out of the Car mister!" He called back.

Others from the ranch started to show up. There were maybe fifty people now around the parking lot. I saw Helen in the crowd.

The guy in the car just opened the door and started to get out. "Its my daughter! She's hurt." he said and reached in the back seat.

Pedro moved a little closer and brought his gun up to point at the guys head, but he lowered it when the guy lifted a little girl from the backseat wrapped in a blanket. As he got out he was sobbing holding her close to his chest. "You got to do something!" he cried looking up at Pedro and then around at everyone else.

I stood there not knowing what to do when I heard a commotion behind me. Helen charged out of the crowd heading toward the man and his kid. As she passed me I saw Pedro notice the movement and put himself between the man and Helen. She stopped and gave him a scathing look. He just shock his head and said "not until we know its safe." and he turned around toward the man who had gone to his knees with his daughter still in his arms.

"You got to help her. Shes hurt really bad." He continued to sob.

Pedro knelled down and reached out to pull the blanket away a little to see what was wrong. As it came away we could see that her wrist was mangled and bloody from what looked like a bite wound. Pedro scrambled back from the girl. Helen made to go to her when Ralph jumped in front of her and stopped her. I came up behind her and grabbed her from behind pulling her away.

"What's wrong with you." she said. "Can't you see shes hurt."

I knew what happened as well as everyone else. Pedro said it anyways. "She's been bitten. Theres nothing we can do for her."

The man who had been looking at his girl looked up. "Its not bad. Shes not infected. Please help her." He had stopped sobbing but was still crying.

"What are we going to do?" someone from the crowd asked.

"There's only one thing to do." Pedro said. And he raised his gun up toward the girl.

The man seeing this screamed "No!" and covered her body to shield it from Pedro.

Pedro hesitated and then said "We got no choice mister. Please move." Pedro's voice broke a little.

The girl started to go into convulsions then and the man seeing this held her closer to him. Helen struggled in my arms, but I held her closer feeling tears well up in my eyes. And then the convulsions stopped and she was still.

The man pulled her away from her and looked at her face. With another hand he moved some blond hair that was covering one of her eyes that were closed and started to cry again whispering "No no no" over and over again. Then her eyes opened up. They were milky and before the man could say anything she lifted her head and bite down into his shoulder ripping a large chunk of flesh and shirt from him. He screamed and then there was the report of a gun going off.

Everyone looked at Pedro who was lowering his gun. He just stared at the now lifeless body of the girl in the mans hand. The man wailed from pain and his girls death. He held her closer to him and cried saying "My Stephanie" over and over again. He never saw Pedro walk up to him and place the barrel of his rifle next to his head. Helen put her head into my shoulder and started to cry.

"Sorry!" Is all Pedro said and then pulled the trigger. Blood and brain matter hit the side of the guys Honda.


	29. Chapter 29

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After that day in the parking lot things got quiet. Pedro had ordered the body's burned and then disappeared for two days. Ralph took over as acting head honcho. It was pretty obvious that no one took him very serious and things weren't getting done and they were starting to fall apart. After two days Alex went and found Pedro who was drunk beyond reason in his house. He stayed there for a couple of hours and then left. The next day Pedro was back with blood shot eyes barking orders and getting things organized and running smooth again. Ralph had a look of complete relief when this happened. Helen hide in her room and cried for a day and then came out ready to administer to anyone that was hurt. There wasn't much she could do since the medicine was running low though. I spent my mornings helping in the Kitchen with Carl and the afternoons gossiping with the others on the ranch.

Most of the news that we were getting were from stragglers that were coming in. Over the next week we would get about ten people a day and then no one showed up any more. Its was the same thing every time. The city's were covered in dead and the government was nowhere to be seen. Some were saying that there was other groups like ares out there and even more were saying that some people and were forming raiders and preying on people fleeing from the dead. The gangs would raid some place that people were hold up in or find them traveling and take everything of use from them and leave them to the dead.

Every once in a while in the following weeks a dead head would find the ranch and try to get in, but the guards that Pedro set up at the fence took care of them. About a month after the end of the world as I was calling it the power finely went out. An hour later the power came back on as some workers got the generators running. A meeting was called at the main house. Everyone but those on guard were to come.

Just before dinner everyone gathered outside the main house and waited for Alex. We had about two hundred and fifty people now. It didn't seem like that on a daily basis, but with Pedro keeping everyone busy and they were spreed out over the ranch and it didn't seem like that many until we had a big group meeting like this. I was standing there in the front of the crowd with Helen at my side when Alex came out of the main doors to the house with Tracey and Pedro helping him walk as usual.

He looked the crowd over and smiled. "Good after noon friends." he started. "I am sure that you are wondering why we are having this meeting." Most knew why. We were going through food fast and we didn't have enough diesel for the generators to run the ranch full time. Half the animals were slaughtered already to feed them and the portions of food being handed out was not the same at a month ago.

Alex continued. "We are running low on food and will be forced to cut back on how much we eat to make it last longer. Our fuel will not last long at our current consumption and we have run out of building material this morning and can not continue to build places for everyone to live."

One of the things that keep ed people busy was the building of small shacks for people to stay in. there were ten houses, the mansion and four barns on the property when this started. The barns were converted into temporary living quarters for people the animals in them being sent out to paster. It was still crowded though. A couple of days after people started to arrive they started to build small shacks for people to live in. they had built forty of them with water and power but it still wasn't enough. The living quarters were crowded. The only thing that keep ed people from fighting was the constant work asked of them. With the building materials gone that would be a problem.

"I know this is not good news, but we have a solution to some of our problems." Alex said in his strangely calm voice. "We have with us" he paused and pointed at a man in the crowd. "Mark Mulligan. "He has a way of fixing our power problem but we need some additional equipment." Alex paused again. "thats why we are going to take volunteers to go out and find what we need and if we can more building material and food."

The crowd started to talk loudly among themselves. Most were worried about the ideal and others were swearing that they wouldn't go out the gates. I didn't say a thing. I did not want to go out there either.

Alex held out his hand to quiet them down. "I know no one wants to go out, but we do not have a choice." He looked around the crowd who were still mumbling to themselves "If we don't we will run out of fuel and food. And then we will die." that got the attention of the crowd. "I am asking for people that know guns, can drive trucks, and have any kind of mechanical background." he looked around the group again. "Please let Pedro know so he can organize the adventure for first light tomorrow. Thank you." Alex turned around and started to hobble back into the house when a voice stopped him.

"I volunteer!" Mark said from the crowd. And stepped forward.

Alex turned half around and smiled. "I appreciate that but if something happens to you we will not be able to build that generator of yours. So you will have to stay here." He turned around to go into the house when someone else yelled they would go.

Everyone turned and looked at me. I realized that it was me that volunteered. I had my hand up in the air. And with everyone looking at me I felt my face go red. Then I felt Helen squeeze my arm. I looked down at her and she was looking at me like she use to when we were just married. I smiled and in the back of my head I was thinking what did I get myself into. The dog squeezed in between us and looked up at Helen like he was saying he would take care of me. Helen reached down and scratched his ear.


	30. Chapter 30

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Over the next couple of hours twenty others volunteered to go. Pedro organized us into groups with jobs to get done, while Ralph got the trucks and gear ready for us. There was three groups. The food and medicine group, the materials group, and the mechanical group of which I was apart of with my experience in manufacturing. Susan was the truck driver for my group because she not only looked the part she was a truck driver. Tracy and her argued about it for a while after Susan had volunteered but stopped when Alex walked by and said they didn't need a lesbo argument on top of everything else going on. Tracy stopped arguing and smacked Alex in the side of the head who just laughed and keep ed on walking. Tracy stormed off, and Susan just went to the truck she was suppose to drive and started to go over it with a fine tooth comb. We went over our plans until eleven at night and then were sent off to sleep as the others that didn't volunteer finished getting everything ready.

I was woken at four in the morning and hurried to get dressed. Helen was still asleep so I leaned over her and kissed her on the cheek and left the room. As I came out of the house I could see about four dozen people moving around the parking lot. Most of them were loading or messing with the trucks that were going to be used for our little trip. I tried to put up a look of confidence but was thinking in the back of my head the whole time I'm a idiot. I walked over to a group on the side of the parking lot that had the people that volunteered. Moe the dog came up to me and keep ed pace with me.

Pedro was in front of them giving last orders. He was dressed in camo and vest like those you see on riot police. As I came up he looked at me but didn't say anything directly to me. He just went on talking. "I will be in charge of the food group, and Charlie will be charge of the materials group, and Susan has the mechanical group." he pointed to each of the people as he called them out. "We leave in ten minutes and if everything goes well we will be back by tonight. Any questions?" he asked

I had a few. Like what am I suppose to do, but I didn't say anything because no one else did.

Pedro seeing no one had a question smiled "Ok! Lets mount up." and he started to head for the flat bed truck in the front of the line.

We all started to head for the trucks when Susan grabbed my arm. "You're with me." is all she said and went to a semi trailer that was in the middle of the group. I shrugged and headed for it as well. As I came up to it I noticed that the flat bed Pedro was in and the semi and one other semi trailer down the line had what kind of looked like cattle guards welded on the front. I walked around the front of the semi and helped the dog in and then got in the passenger side myself. Susan was already in and turning the engine over.

We sat there for about ten minutes and just as Pedro started to go Helen came running out of the house in her night gown. She ran up to the semi that I was in ans climbed on the side. I rolled the window down and she almost jumped through to give me a hug and a kiss.

"I can't believe you were gonna go with out saying bye to me." she said.

I was at a lost for words for a second and just said. "I didn't want to wake you up honey."

Helen gave me another kiss and said. "You should of. Be safe and come back in one piece." she jumped back down off the truck as Susan shifted it in gear and we started to move.

"I will!" I called from the window.

"I love you!" she called back.

"Right back at you!" I said as we started to pull out of the parking lot and onto the road out.

I pulled my head back into the window and Susan said "Stick with me and you'll get back" she smiled at me.

I smiled at her and looked at the rear view mirror to see Helen waving at me. I sat back in the seat and tried to keep my worries to myself. As we came up to the main gate we could see several people there waiting for us. They moved a truck blocking the gate and opened it wide for us. As we drove by they waved.

Susan looked over at me. "Well its off to the wild blue yonder!" the dog barked and I just smiled and tried to not throw up.


	31. Chapter 31

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The convoy left the road leading to the ranch and turned left on the main road to town. We were only going thirty five miles an hour because Pedro said it conserved gas and the dead heads couldn't keep up with us at that speed. We were traveling for a while and I started to nod off only to be woken every time we went over a bump in the road. Looking over at Susan I suspected it was intentional as she had a half smile on her face. The dog just slept in the back behind us.

About twenty miles down the road we spotted smoke over a hill in the distance. Ten more miles we came up on a wreck. Two cars were in the middle of the road smoldering. Pedro pulled over about forty yards from it and stopped. As he and his partner in the truck got out Susan reached for her rifle so I did the same. We got out of the truck but not to the ground. Susan started to scan the road to either side and even though I had no ideal what I was suppose to be looking for did the same thing. Several others in the vehicles behind and in front of use did the same thing.

Pedro creped up on the wreck waving to his partner to stay where he was. He made a small circle of the cars and then came back to the truck and got in. The radio came on then with Pedro's voice. "It was an ambush." he said over the radio. "Where going to keep going but I want everyone to keep there eyes out.

"What do you mean a ambush Pedro" another voice came back over the radio. "Do you mean those Zombies can think and plan an attack?"

There was a pause and then "No. this wasn't Zombie's. The people in those cars were shot in the chest. No head wounds." another pause. "This didn't happen to long ago people. Keep your eyes out and lets get going."

There was no response over the radio. Everyone knew what that meant. There were non-infected people around preying on others. Susan and me got back in the truck and waited for the convoy to get going again. Susan grabbed the receiver of the radio and said. "What about everyone at the ranch?"

"I will notify them now. Lets get going we have a mission to do." Pedro responded. The convoy started to move again. Pedro moved his truck in front of the wreaks and pushed them to the side with the cow catcher in the front and then we were on the road again.

Susan turned the radio to the ranch's channel and listen to Pedro talk to Ralph and Alex. He told them what we found including the fact that there were four children in the car shot as well. He told Ralph to double the guard at the gate and to get a couple more people watching the cameras on the outside. He didn't want anyone getting in that didn't need to be.

Another twenty miles and we didn't see anything. Pedro came back over the radio and announced this is where we separate. He gave us a warning about keeping an eye out for the dead and anyone still alive. As we came up on a Y intersection he went left, and we went right with two trucks behind us. The group behind them followed Pedro. Susan looked over at me and said. "Were on our own now." the dog gave a half wine half growl and then went back to sleep.


	32. Chapter 32

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As we got closer to town we started to see more and more sign's of destruction. A burnt out building here, a dead body there. Driving by the body's I looked at them and could see that they were dead with assorted head wounds. I was thinking it was a little strange that we hadn't ween any of the walking dead when on came out from the back of a car on its side and slammed into the side of the truck. Its jaw was hanging to the side of its head.

"Crap!" Susan yelled and turned into it forcing it under the tires. We felt a couple of bumps and then straited out on the road. "One down fifteen thousand to go!" Susan said with a smile at me.

I stared at her and then asked what she meant. She told me the population of this town was fifteen thousand. I asked her how she knew that. And she said she read it on a sign when they came into the outskirts of town. I wasn't feeling very confident.

We didn't go any deeper into town, but tried to stay on the outskirts. The place we were going was on the other side of town, but we didn't want to go right through figuring that there would be less dead if we stayed on the outskirts. The farther we drove the more dead we saw. Susan would aim for the ones in the street and knock them out of the way with the cow catcher, and speed away from the ones coming at us from the side.

After about fifteen minutes of running over the dead we came back out of the town and headed for a side road that ran parallel with the town when Susan said. "This isn't good!"

Watching out the window for any threats that may come my way I turned to her and asked "Why!"

She turned onto the road running over another deadhead and replied. "Haven't you been paying attention to them?"

"I thought I was!" I said to her.

She looked at me kind of weired. "Look at their condition Kyle!"

There were none in front of us but a few were chasing us a ways back and I put my head out to look. The two guys in the truck behind us Mark in the passenger seat and the other guy I couldn't remember his name were smoking and laughing as they followed us. Behind them were about thirty dead chasing us getting further behind my the minute. I was surprised that they weren't farther behind us then our thirty five miles an hour would indicate. They must have been running pretty fast. I put my head back in the cab and turned to Susan. "What am I suppose to be looking at? How fast they are?"

"No! There condition!" she said.

"Yea! There dead! Thats kind of how we met." I said

She looked at me like I was an idiot. "They aren't decomposing. Other then they are more white they look like they are in good condition."

Looking at her I didn't understand what she was talking about. She saw this and said. "Its been a month. They should have been decomposing by now, but they look like they were bitten yesterday."

I sat back and thought on that for a second. If they weren't decomposing then there may not be an end to all this anytime soon. I stopped thinking about it and pulled a pack of gum out of my shirt pocket I got from Carl and asked "You want a piece?" Susan gave me a scathing look and then laughed and took a piece.

Thirty miles down the road we had left the dead behind, and couldn't see them anymore. There were a few wrecks here and there, but nothing that seemed out of place. I smiled to myself thinking that a few wrecks on the road wasn't out of place in this world. Susan pointed out the window at a large building that was coming up on our left surrounded by a fence.

"There it is." She said. "Turbine Inc."

I started to get that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach that said somethings not right. The dog who had been asleep and dead to the world the whole trip nudged my elbow. I reached back and scratched him on the head. "It's OK!" I said to it. I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince him or me. Susan had the same kind of look of worry that I did.


	33. Chapter 33

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We rolled up to the gate and stopped. It was shut and chained closed. Past the gate we could see that the building was the largest in the area. It stood about four stories tall and was as long as a football field. There were other buildings inside the fence, but they looked more like storage buildings. A single car was parked next to the building in a parking spot but other then that the whole area was vacant. Across the street behind us were some more buildings. Mostly small businesses and storage buildings. One of them had a sign on it saying Kirby's long storage. I thought I saw some movement in the front office window, but I only saw it out of the corner of my eye and thought it might be shadows playing tricks on me.

Susan looked over at me and said. "Go and open it if you can."

I looked at her debating what I could say to not get out of the cab. I couldn't think of a thing so I picked up the rifle and opened the door. Before I jumped down I looked everywhere I could for any dead. Taking a long look over at Kirby's I didn't see anything so I jumped down. The dog jumped down after me and followed me to the gate. As we walked up to the gate I could see that the pad lock on it wasn't engaged. It was just hooked into the chain to keep it from falling away from the gate.

Looking around I still didn't see anything that could be a threat to me. Mark had gotten out of the truck behind us and was scanning the area with his rifle. He looked at me with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and nodded with a smile. I thought to myself that I needed to bum a cigarette from him after we get in. reaching out I unhooked the pad lock and let the chain fall to the ground. The noise made me jump a little and I looked around to see if anyone heard. Susan just looked at me from the drivers side drumming her fingers on the wheel. With the engine running there no way the chain falling could of made more noise and thought I must look like a idiot. I lifted the latch on the gate pushed hard on the gate to open it.

It swung open a lot easier then I thought it would and stumbled into the parking lot beyond, but caught myself before I took a dive face first. The gate swung open and hit the fence to the side with a loud crash of metal fence to metal fence. I looked around for any reaction to the noise but didn't see anything. The dog started to growl and bared its teeth. He was pointed toward the buildings across the road. I still didn't see anything and waved Susan through the gate.

Susan moved the truck through the gate and Mark got back into his truck and they started to move to follow Susan, when the dog started to bark crazy. I looked at the direction he was barking and could see several people come running around the back of Kirby's storage. They were covered in blood and some were missing parts of their body's. I raised my rifle and fired off a round. It hit the ground in front of one of them and they keep ed on coming.

"Shut the gate!" Mark yelled as he and the other guy drove past. He was hanging out the side window and started to fire his rifle at them. He was having better luck. He dropped one and hit several others. They keep ed on coming.

I dropped the rifle in my hands and ran to the gate and grabbed it and swung it shut. Dashing to the other side to get the other side of the gate shut I could hear Mark and the other guy starting to fire at the dead charging across the street. There were about thirty of them. Grabbing the other gate I started to swing it shut. This one I held onto with the thought that I would latch it when it meet up with the other half. As I was pushing it I heard a round go wising by my ear and one of the dead took one between the eyes.

As the gate closed I went to grab the latch when the first one hit the fence full force. It knocked the gate into me knocking me down. The dead bounced off and landed four feet from the gate. Not knowing what to do I put my feet up on the gate to hold it shut as more of them came rushing the gate. There were at least ten on the other side pushing with me on the ground trying to hold it shut with my feet. I could feel them grabbing on my feet as they tried to get a hold on me and pull me through.

I heard Mark coming up behind me firing into the crowd, but the fence was slowly opening up with the press of body's against the gate. I felt myself being pushed slowly away on the ground. I was thinking this was it. I'm a dead man. My life started to flash before my eye's and I realized that I lead a pretty pathetic life. Mark was behind me now firing point blank at the dead that were trying to squeeze by the small opening. There were twenty of them at least now pushing on the gate. There moans were starting to get louder as they sense there meal was almost in reach.

"Well! It was nice knowing you Kyle." Mark said and dropped his rifle and laid down as well to put his feet against the gate. It didn't help as the gate still slowly pushed open.

I heard a pinging sound in front of me. I didn't know what it was at first because I was busy trying to not let the gate open. It was followed by several others and them hundreds of them. The dead at the gate started to drop fast. The pressure on the gate lessen and Mark and me were able to push it all the way closed. The dead continued to drop in front of us. We could still hear the pinging against the fence and then I felt something hit me. I looked down and saw what looked like a ball bearing laying on my chest. I looked at it confusingly when Marked yelled at me to push.

I my confusion I wasn't pushing as hard and the gate came back open a little. We managed to push it shut again the the dead continued to drop. I could see small holes opening up in there chest and arms and head. They were all about the size of the ball bearing on my chest.

The last of the dead finely dropped to the ground and stopped moving. The pinging stopped and Mark and me put our feet down in exhaustion. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He took one out and handed me the pack. I took one for myself and handed it back to Mark who handed me a lighter. As I lite up we heard a voice that sounded like it was coming from a loud speaker. "You yanks going to lay there all day! Or are you going to come in?" the voice was British in accent. The dog who had been barking the whole time wagged its tail and barked again. Mark and I just looked to the building that the voice came from and laughed.


	34. Chapter 34

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Mark and me got up off the ground and looked at the gate. There were dead piled up all around it on the outside. Mark reached over and lifted the latch into place. We turned around and started to walk towards the trucks. Susan and the other guy who had gotten out of their trucks and were firing at the gate now had their rifles trained on the building. As we came up on them we watched the building wearily. We didn't know who was in there, but they had saved us.

Susan shouldered her rifle and started to walk towards the building. The rest of us just looked at each other and started to follow her. As we came up on a side door that said main office it came open. We stood back and waited for anything. A man came out waving to us.

"How you doing?" he asked us.

Susan looked at us and then back at the guy. "Where fine. Thanks to you." she said.

"No bother at all! No bother at all!" he said repeating himself, and came up and grabbed Susan's hand shaking it.

Susan who at first didn't know what to do quickly introduced us. And the guy went from person to person shaking their hand. The other man with us that I couldn't remember his name was Chad. The man introduced himself as Will Thatcher. No relation to Margarete he said. I had know ideal who Margarete Thatcher was. He ushered us into the front office door.

The room was a open office with cubicles and computer desks all evenly spaced apart for work areas. It looked like it was maybe forty feet by a hundred feet long with three entrances. We were standing in what I would call a greeting room in front of a large desk with wilted flowers in a vase and an empty candy dish sitting next to a computer. Will shut the door and locked it from the inside.

"Just in case one of them get inside the fence." He said with a smile.

I didn't have a good feeling about him. I couldn't put my finger on it but I didn't like the guy. He seemed to move almost panicky. And his eyes darted back and forth. Like he was expecting something to jump out at him any second.

"I haven't seen a living soul for about a week now." he said with a snicker.

"How long you been here?" Susan asked as she walked around the office looking at the different pictures on the wall.

Will rolled his eyes and looked to the ceiling. "I'd have to say about a month now. What day is it?"

"It's wends day the twenty third." Mark said. He was looking out the side window to the parking lot and the fence beyond.

Will just smiled. "About a month I think. Thats when me and Ted were suppose to be off shift."

"Who's Ted?" I asked looking around thinking I might see someone else come out of no where.

"Ted was the guy I was security guard here with." Will said with an almost sad look on his face. "We worked the night shift together for four years."

"Where is he now?" Chad asked. He had the same look as I was feeling on his face.

"I don't know." will replied. "We were running low on food and he went to try and find some for us about a week ago and never came back."

Susan came back from walking around the room. "I don't see any guns so what was that that took out those dead heads out there?" She asked.

Will stared at her for a second with a confused look on his face and then said. "O! That! That was my air gun I built from parts around the floor here."

"An air gun?" Mark asked.

"Yea! It fires half inch ball bearings at about two hundred a minute....I Think." Will said. "It can shoot about a hundred yards with enough force to take those things out." He continued. Looking at us he asked "So! What brings you out to Turbines inc. any way? There's nothing much here in the terms of food or supplies to live on. I was about to try my luck out there when you guys showed up."

Susan had a look like she didn't believe the guy but let it go. "We came because we need some equipment thats here."

Will looked at her for a second and then said "Thats no problem. What do you need? I know almost everything about this place."

Susan pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. "This is a list of everything we need."

Will looked the list over walking back and forth. "Looks like you are trying to build some sort of generator?" He said.

"Thats right." I said.

"Well every things here. I can show you where its at. It doesn't do me any good." He looked up from the list and gave a half chucked.

"I'd like to get a look at that air gun of yours. If you don't mind." Chad said.

Will looked at him and smiled. "No problem. Let me show you where some of this stuff is and while they load it I will show you." he started to head for the door.

"What do you want in return?" Susan said

Will stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. "Food if you have any. That way I don't have to go out there."

"Thats no problem. We can give you some of ours." Mark said smiling.

"Why don't you just come back with us, and leave this place?" Susan asked.

Will seemed to think about this for a minute and then "That would be a marvelous ideal. I will have to get a few things packed, but I think I will." He smiled at us and then continued. "Follow me!" and then went out a door I had to assume lead to the main plant.

We left the dog in the office. I asked about what if he pooped or something in there. Will just laughed and said he hoped it was in the boss's office.


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True to his word Will lead us to the stuff on the list. He told us he was from england which was no surprise to us. He had immigrated here five years before and found this job. It was below him he thought because he was a trained engineer and not some run of the mill security guard, but he liked the night shift so stayed with it. To keep out of the rat race as he put it.

He pointed to some large boxes and a few other heavy things on some shelfs and told us where the fork lift was. Susan went out to get the truck. Mark went to get the forklift, and I went to open the loading doors so Susan could back the semi in. Will took Chad to go see the air gun that he used to save our ass.

After he was gone I told Mark about my uneasy feeling about Will. He reassured me about him by saying I would be a little off being stuck in a foreign country and alone for a month as well. It didn't do anything for my gut feelings though. Mark didn't seem bugged about it at all. As Susan pulled the truck in we started to load up the stuff from the list.

Susan thought we should load up some of the metal and other things to with the theory that you never know what you may need. Mark and I had to agree and started to load some of the other stuff up. Will came back when we were half done loading the truck. He told us that Chad wanted to take the air gun and was busy taking it apart. Mark asked where the bathroom was and Will offered to show him where it was and they took off.

"I don't trust that guy farther then I could throw him." Susan said from the side of the truck strapping down a box.

I was startled when she spoke. She hadn't said anything for a while. Looking back to where Will and Mark had gone I said. "I have to agree. There's something wrong with that guy, and I don't think its the fact that he's been here alone all this time."

Susan just nodded and pulled on the bar to tighten the strap harder until she heard a crack from the box on the truck. "That should do it for this load. What else do we have to get on board?"

Looking around I had no ideal what most of this stuff was but pointed at a pile of metal rods over in a corner and asked about them. Susan just nodded and went to get in the forklift. I excused myself to go to the bathroom as well and with a wave to Susan started off in the same direction as Mark and will took off to.

I walked in the direction they went but got lost pretty quick. This kind of annoyed me, because I worked at a manufacturing plant before all this happened and you would think I would know my way around one. After having to back track a few times I came across the plants paint system when an ideal hit me. If this place was anything like my old work there paint system would have a large clean air filter and generator. They were designed to get fresh air to the painters in there suits so they wouldn't overheat and breath in paint fumes. It could be used as a large air conditioner with the right attachments. It was starting to get hotter everyday outside as summer was getting in full swing and I thought that it would be a good thing to have.

It would be located by the kitchen as they were known. The kitchen was where they mixed and set up the paint to be used. I found it and as I was going to walk around it I noticed what looked like red paint on the floor by it. I wouldn't usually take note of it except it looked still wet. That was strange I thought. I knelled down and put my finger in it. It was wet and a little more gooey then paint was, and I didn't remember seeing anything blood red.

My curiosity got the better of me and I stood up and pulled on the door to the kitchen. It swung open revealing a kitchen that looked a lot like the one at my work. Mark was laying there with his hands and legs tied behind his back with duct tape. I looked both ways and then went in to check him out. As I rolled him over I could see a large lump on his head where he was hit. Half of his face was covered in blood. He was still breathing, but I couldn't wake him up. He was out cold. Where was will I wondered. And then I started to put one and one together.


	36. Chapter 36

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I started to make my way back to the truck. I took the tape off Mark and tried to make him comfortable and then left him in the kitchen. I left my rifle next to the truck and had no ideal what I was going to do. I just hoped that Susan was OK. I assumed that Chad was out to. I had no ideal where Will was but knew I had to get back to Susan and tell her what happened.

Weaving in out of the different aisles trying to figure out I was I finely saw the front of the truck. I had somehow gone all the way around to the other side of the truck. As I walked up to it I could see Susan's feet on the ground on the other side. She was grunting from trying to tighten down another strap on the truck. I smiled and then I saw another set of feet come up from behind he. Susan stoped what she was doing and turned to them.

"Where's Mark?" I heard her ask.

"He said he wanted to try and help that other guy with the air gun. So I showed him where he was. Where did that other fellow go?" I heard Will say back.

I realized neither of them saw me, so I duct down and started to creep around the front of the truck with my head down to keep an eye on their feet.

"He went to the bathroom. I thought he went in the direction you and Mark went." Susan said back to him.

"I didn't see him." Will replied with a little confusion in his voice. "Probably got lost."

"What do you mean?" I heard Susan say back to him.

"This is a big place. When I first started here I would get lost at least once a day." Will said back to her.

Susan must of thought this was a good answer and turned back to the truck to continue what she was doing. On the corner of the truck I could see Will bend down and pick up a metal bar laying on the ground. It was now or never I thought. I picked up the chain to the chock block under the tire and walked around the corner pulling it with all my strength. The block came out and flung away from me toward Will, who had the bar above his head ready to hit Susan in the head.

"Watch out Susan!" I yelled as the chain came out of my hands and followed the block toward Will. Will for his part looked startled as the block hit him square in the face knocking him to the ground. The bar falling harmlessly from his hands.

Susan turn around at the last second as the block hit Will. She saw the bar come out of his hands and him the ground. His nose flatten across his face. She had a look of complete shock. Recovering quickly she pulled a hand gun out of a holster on her side and pointed at Will who just laid there holding his nose with both hands. Blood gushed out from around his hands.

"You broke my nose mate!" he cried.

Susan took a step and kicked him in the face again. She had on steel toe boots and all I could see was blood splatter all over the place and Will fall back to the ground. He didn't move.

Susan turned to me. "Thanks! I owe you one."

"Marks unconscious over there and I don't know where Chad is" I pointed in the direction I had come from. "What are we going to do with him? " I asked.

Susan knelled down by him and smiled "I have an ideal."


	37. Chapter 37

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We tied Will up in a chair duct taping his mouth and then went and got Mark. He slowly came around and told us that Will had go behind him and before he knew what happen he was being woken up by us. We cleaned up his head the best we could and then left him with a rifle to guard Will, who was still out cold from Susan's boot. Susan and me started to search for Chad.

We found him in a office above the one we first came into. His head was caved in. We didn't know what to do and just finely decided to cover the body with something, but couldn't find anything so we just left it where it lay. On our way back down the stairs Susan spotted a plant layout map on the wall. She pulled it off the wall and looked at it.

"The cafeteria is over here. Lets take a look in there and see if we can scrounge anything." She said pointing at a spot on the map.

We came to the cafeteria and looked around the kitchen part of it. I was going through the cupboards and setting aside the few spices I found there in a box I found on the ground when I heard Susan call me over. I walked over to the freezer that I could hear humming. Will had some how set up a generator to run it.

Susan saw me coming and just pointed in the freezer. I poked my head in and at first didn't see anything but what looked like a side of meat hanging from a hook in the back. The fog of the freezer parted a little and I could see it was a human body missing its legs and feet hanging upside down. Most of the meat on it was striped off. I held my puke in and looked down to not look at it anymore. Thats when I saw the uniform laying on the ground. The name tag said Ted.

"He was going to eat us!" Susan said with disgusted in her voice.

I just looked away and went back pulling the spices from the shelves and trying to not think about it. Susan helped me with the last few things and then we both headed back to the truck. When we got back Mark was looking paler, and he was nodding off. Susan waled over to Will and pulled the tape from his mouth.

"Start talking you bastard!" she screamed at him. And then back handed him across the face.

His head snapped to the side and then came back to face us. "Talk about what!" He said to her.

"About what happened to Chad and that other guy we found in the freezer!" She said hitting him again.

He gave her a hurtful look. "I didn't know what to do when it happened." he lowered his head. "When it all started me and Ted where hold up here for a bout two weeks. We ate everything out of the cafeteria. There wasn't much there. They were suppose to get a delivery the morning it all started." he breathed in a shaky breath. "We went through all the soda machines next but were running low fast. And then there was nothing."

"So you ate Ted?" Susan said and slapped him again. "Why didn't you try and go out and find some food?"

"Ted wanted to, but I.... I was scared." he paused and took in a ragged breath. "Things were crazy out there. There were dead all over the place out there." He looked down "We got into an argument and then started to fight. I hit him with a bar and he fell down. I didn't know what to do and then it dawned on me. I could eat him. I mean that would mean I didn't have to go out there and he wasn't going to complain about it."

Susan raised her hand to strike him again, but stopped. "Why didn't you just help us and get out of here with us? In stead you tried to kill us."

"I was scared! I don't want to go out there, and I need more food." He said

Susan was visibly shaken. She didn't hit him again but turned to Mark and me. I was trying my best to keep Mark awake and stop the blood seeping from his head. His eyes were rolling up in his head and he couldn't focus anymore.

"How is he doing?" Susan asked

Looking at Mark I was no doctor or nurse for that matter, but knew he wasn't in a good position. "I don't know. We need to get him help and soon too."

"Lets load him up in the semi and get out of here. You can drive the small truck." Susan said and knelled down to help me get him up.

"What about him?" I said with a nod to Will.

"I will take care of him." Susan said with a voice that brokered no argument.

Fifteen minutes later we were loaded and heading for the gate. Susan duct taped wills mouth again and wheeled him in the chair outside by the fence and left him there. There were a few more dead that came by and saw the movement and were lined up along the fence trying to get in again. Will tried his best to break free but the roped were tight.

Susan gunned the big rig and plowed through the fence. As it swung open it pushed the body's on the ground and the dead at the gate aside. I followed with the dog in the passenger seat. As we went by Will I looked over at him. His eye's were huge and in a panicky state. I could tell he was trying to scream something and struggle with his bindings, but I couldn't tell what. I looked away not wanting to see or think about it. We left the gate and headed in the direction we came from. I looked back in the rear view mirror. None of the dead were following us. They were going for the easy meal inside the gate we left.


	38. Chapter 38

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We traveled down the road for a while not seeing anything. Then I saw Susan swerved in front of me and then body's start to fly from each side of her truck. I followed as close as I could behind her not wanting any of them to get between us. As we drove past some of them I recognized them as some of the ones that were chasing us earlier. It was almost like they lost sight of us and stopped moving.

Susan's truck in front of us started to slow down after we got through them. I didn't know why so I got on the CB and asked why. There was no response and I pulled out to the side to see if I could see what was wrong. I could see Susan hanging half out of the cab with her rifle pointed in front of he. She fired once and then got back in and gassed it. I saw a body come tumbling to the side of the truck and figured out that a dead head had climbed on the front of the truck.

"Every things fine Kyle." I heard Susan come back across the radio. "Marks not looking good though."

I couldn't think of a thing to say back so I just said OK.

As we were coming into the outskirts of town again we started to see more dead again. And just like when we came through the first time we keep ed driving avoiding them if we could. Susan came back on the radio and told me to turn the channel to Pedro's channel so I did.

We could hear Pedro yelling on the radio "Get the fuck out of there!"

Another voice came back. "They got us pinned down, we can't." We heard gun fire in the back ground.

"How many are there?" Came Pedro's voice.

There saw some static for a minute and then "I think about ten or so." more gun fire in the back ground.

Susan came back over the radio and said "Where are you at?"

The voice came back."Over at Woody's lumber yard. Were pinned in the office."

"Were only about two miles from there, we can be there in a couple of minutes." Susan said over the radio. She then turned the truck down another road and speed up. I groined and turned after her. The dog barked happily.

"Keep an eye out for any of there buddy's that may be near by." Pedro said over the radio. "we'll get there as soon as we can."

"How many dead are there?" I asked over the radio.

"There not dead!" the voice came over the radio. "Its a biker gang that wants our trucks!"

This wasn't going to be good I thought. I followed Susan as she speed through a more populated part of town. I knew where Woody's was, and I knew the way she was going. She was going in the most straight path possible to get there. The down side was it was through one of the most populated areas in town.

Within a few minutes we started to see more and more dead. Susan stopped swerving to hit them and just drove strait down the road going about forty miles an hour. I followed as close as I could in my little pickup but some of the dead still got in front of me. I was mowing them down and they were hitting the side of the truck left and right. The dog started to bark at the back window and I looked back to see one of them had grabbed hold and pulled itself onto the back of the truck.

I reached for my rifle and had second thoughts. I wasn't going to roll the window down and hang out to shot it. There were to many dead heads around us and more were coming at us every second. They were pouring out of the houses and apartments all around us. I didn't want to shoot out the back. That would break the window and that was the last barrier between me and them. I decided to swerve and see if I could knock him off that way.

I cranked the wheel back and forth and watched as the one in the back fell over the side. I smiled, but that was short lived as I saw a couple of more latch on as I drove by and crawl on. The dog was barking even more. I stopped swerving and tried to think of what to do at the same time trying to follow Susan. The dead head in the back of the truck seemed to be having a hard time standing up so I decided to keep an eye on them in stead of trying to knock them off. When one of them got on its feet I would swerve and knock it back off its feet. That was all I could think of doing. Then Susan came back over the radio.

"Were here!" I heard her yell over the radio.

I could see around the truck in front of us as she plowed through the fence. I looked behind us at the four dead in the back of my truck and the couple of thousand it seemed behind us. And thought to my self "How the fuck do I get myself into things like this. Just then a hand came crashing through the back window grabbing me on the shoulder.


	39. Chapter 39

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Two things happened at once here. One I screamed and in hind sight I sounded a lot like a girl. And two it caused me to pull on the wheel hard to the right as I was coming through the fence. This caused the dead including the one who grabbed me to fly out of the back and onto the ground, and me to come crashing into a couple of bikes parked on the side of the fence coming to a halt.

I looked behind me to see where the dead went and then and then where Susan went. She was plowing through a couple of other bikes in the parking lot we came into. I could see some guys in leather that I assumed to be the bikers screaming at her and firing there guns as she went by. I hoped she was OK but had my own problems at the moment when I looked in front of me and saw two more bikers coming at me from the side of the building with there guns raised and pointed at me.

I heard some more firing and one of them fell to the ground holding his leg. The other one turned from me and fired into the building. When he turned around his eyes got huge and he turned tail and ran in the other direction. I was a little confused by this until two of the dead I had knocked off came running past me. They ignored me and went for the guy on the ground. He screamed as he tried to get his gun up but was tackled by them. They preceded to tare him apart.

I watched in a kind of sick amazement, and was wondering about my luck when one of the other ones slammed into the side of the truck. Its face was pressed up against the window as it tried to get to me. I could see that it was missing most of its teeth, and then realized that it was once an old man. Most of his arm muscles on one arm looked to be ripped out and hanging down. While looking at the thing at my window I thinkingly pressed the gas pedal and I started to take off. As I went faster the old man tried to keep up but tripped and fell down leaving a bloody smear across the window.

I was coming to the end of the parking lot. A huge pile of lumber was stacked up at the end of it so I jammed on the breaks and cranked the wheel to the left. The truck went into a slide and I hit the side of the pile throwing me into the passenger side of the truck and smashing the dog into the window. It yelped and groaned. I sat up and looked out the drivers side only to see that the old man was back up and running at me. I could see the fence where we came through and there was a steady stream of dead coming through it. Some of them were coming toward me some of the others were heading deeper in to the yard. I had no ideal where Susan went after I came though and was grabbed by the dead head.

I started to slide back into the drivers seat when I felt movement in the back of the truck. Looking back I saw that it was the biker that ran for it. He pointed his pistol at me and yelled "Move the fucking truck! Now!"

Looking back at the old man coming at me fast and with no other ideals popping into my head I gassed it. The truck started to move, but slowly. I could see the smoke coming off the tires as they rotated faster and faster. The biker looked over the side and yelled that the tires were blocked by some lumber that fell under them.

I stopped gassing it and shifted in reverse. I heard the biker shot his pistol and then saw the old mans head wipe back and he fell to the ground sliding the last five feet to the truck. I hit the gas again and this time it went backwards about a foot and stopped. Shifting it back into drive I hit the gas again and we jumped forward and bounced across the pile of wood stopping us from going forward. I felt another big bump in the back of the truck and looked back. The pile of wood fell and some of it fell in the back burying the guy back there.

I looked forward again only to see the front doors of the main building in front of me. I heard the dog make a noise that sounded a lot like a gulp and then we crashed into them.


	40. Chapter 40

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It was almost like slow motion as we went through the doors. I saw the glass break and the frame pop off the hinges and fly over the hood and into the back of the truck. The truck keep ed on going through the front entrance and into a display of tools coming to a halt. I saw a guy standing on the drivers side door looking at me with wide eyes.

"That was fucking cool man!" He yelled at me

I was looking at my white knuckles holding onto the steering wheel thinking holy shit. I looked over at him and recognized him as Todd. One of the guys that was suppose to get the building materials for us. "What the hell do we do?" I asked him.

He looked at the truck and then out the front window to the parking lot. "Lets get the fuck out of here!" he said and and ran stumbling over the mess in front of the truck making his way around to the side door and got in shoving the dog over who didn't want to budge.

While he was doing that I looked over my shoulder and out the window to see what he saw. There were maybe a hundred dead in the parking lot now and hundreds of more streaming in after them. I also saw out of the corner of my eye the pile of debris in the back moving a little and realized that the biker was still in back. I turning toward Todd I said "Witch way?"

He looked back behind us and then to the front. The store was designed to have all the product in a circle around a large open place so that they could demonstrate some new product or way of building things. There was nothing in between us and the back double window doors to the back lot, but a few products. "Straight ahead and gun it!" He said and pointed.

I pressed the gas pedal down to the floor board, and felt the truck jump forward and bounce over the display I knocked down. We tore through the center and right through another display of paints and right into the doors. Paint was flying every where coating the truck in a rainbow of colors as we crashed through the back doors.

"What the fuck!" I heard coming from the back of the truck.

We came out in the back lot. There were several people in it running around trying to get in trucks and move out. I saw Susan in her truck firing at something to the side of the building with a couple of other guy's. I just keep ed on moving to the back of the lot aiming for the back gate. Some of the others were starting to move as well. I notice that some of the people were not with the group when we left and figured that they were bikers like the one I could hear swearing in the back of the truck.

"Shit!" I heard Todd yell next to me and duck down covering his head as we came up to the fence. I just closed my eyes and tried to push the pedal through the floor bracing my arms against the steering wheel.

We hit the fence and I felt it as it lifted up off its hinges and came crashing down on to of the cab. I heard the guy in the back scream as it sailed over his head, and then we were out of the yard and racing down the street. Todd looked up and saw that we made it through and promptly passed out. I looked behind us and could see that everyone was making for the gate and going through. I was in the lead now. I thought to my self as I cruised down the street in the truck that now had its front end smashed, but for some reason still ran. How the hell did I do that? The dog just put its front paws on the dash board and barked as we down the street its tongue hanging out of its mouth.


	41. Chapter 41

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I drove down the street trying my best to dodge the dead in the street. They were coming out of every building around us it seemed. Todd sat in the passenger seat giving directions and warnings as well ads shooting as many dead that got close as he could. We still hit a few of them and I was starting to worry that the truck may not make it as it was taking a lot of punishment.

Five minutes down the road Susan came over the radio and told me to slow down and let her pass. Looking in the rear view mirror I could see that she had moved up in the line of trucks and was right behind me. Looking ahead I could see that the dead were getting even thicker. I laid off the gas pedal a little and as I started to slow down I pulled over to the side of the road as much as I could. Susan came screaming by me in her semi plowing into the mass of dead that was forming in front of us and coming at us. Body's went flying every which way.

I pressed the peddle down and pulled out behind her. I stayed as close to her as I could without actually rear ending her and hoped she didn't slow sown for anything. We could see Body's rolling to the side as we passed more and more of them. We could also see that more were coming from the sides as we went passed. We were pass them before they could get to us but I could see in the rear view mirror that some of them were getting to the trucks behind us. One of the bikers that got away and was with us on his bike three trucks back was caught and pulled from his bike as he went by some of them.

He was going fast enough that when he was pulled from the bike that the dead that he pulled out the arm of the dead head that grabbed him and went rolling down the street. Before he came to a stop several of the dead had piled on him and started to feast. It was short lived though; as a truck behind him came crashing through the group. It hit them so hard that the group on the biker became a jump for the truck. The truck went air born about four feet off the ground smashing and flinging several of the dead in different directions. I hoped the biker guy was dead.

From there it was like a dream to me. I was on auto pilot the whole time. I didn't even think as I just focused on Susan ahead of me and we drove as fast as we could out of town. I only remotely remember the body's flying by. When I saw Susan's break lights go on did I snap out of it. Mostly because the front of the truck I was driving hit the back end of hers. As I backed off I noticed that we weren't in town any more and I couldn't see any dead around us.

We pulled over to the side of the road with everyone else and got out of the trucks. I notice that several of the people with us were checking there trucks for damage and the surrounding area for any dead. I acted like I was doing the same thing even though I had no ideal what I was doing. The pile of debris in the back of my truck shifted and I remembered the guy back there. I lifted my rifle up and pointed at a hand sticking out the rear.

"Don't shoot!" A voice came out from the pile. "I'm not one of them!" it said.

I lowered my rifle and then thought about it and raised it again. "One of who?" I asked. "The dead or one of the bikers that was trying to shoot my friends?"

The pile shifted again and out popped a head of a man in his early twenty's. At first it was hard to tell with all the cuts and scratches on his face. "The dead dude." he said to me.

Before I could say anything else Susan walked up to the back of the truck. "Get the fuck out of the back now!" She said in a low voice and raised her pistol to his head.

I guy's brown eyes bulged out of his head, but he obeyed the order. As he pulled himself out the pile he said "I'm sorry about what happen back there. It wasn't my ideal."

"Shut up and get out already!" Susan said in an even lower voice.

He stared at her frozen in place so I added "You better do what she says kid."

He crawled out of the pile and fell off the side of the truck to the ground with a loud thump against the ground. He started to lift himself up off the ground when he looked under the truck and started to scramble away from it.

"What the fuck!" I said and started to follow him with my rifle pointed at him.

Susan didn't follow me but instead stepped back from the truck and knelled down to look underneath the truck. She fired a round underneath and then reached under and pulled something out. I was curious as to what she fired at and forgot the guy on the ground. I walked over to her and as I came up I could see over her shoulder at what looked like a mangled dog at first but on a closer look could see it was a little kid that had its legs pulled off. It was covered in blood and gore making it almost impossible to tell what gender it was. You could only tell that it was a kid by the size of the remains.

"What the fuck!" I heard behind me and turned to see the guy behind me.

I pointed my rifle at him and said "Put them up!" and thought that was the stupidest thing to say ever.

He raised his hands above his head and just kept staring at the thing on the ground. "That is the most fucked up thing I have ever seen!"

Susan stood up from the pile and looked at the guy. "Get moving!" she said and pointed away from the trucks.

The guy looked behind him in the direction she was pointing and then back. "You going to shot me in the field?"

"Were not going to shot you unless we have to." She said in return. "But you are not going to go with us and waste or supplies. Especially after you and your friends tried to kill some of us."

The kid looked at us and then back to where Susan was pointing and then back at us. "I wont be a problem I promise." he said a quiver coming in his voice.

"Thanks for coming for us Susan!" A man said coming up to us.

"You would of done the same for us I'm sure Charlie." Susan said to him.

"I'm not to sure of that. That took a lot of balls." He said and then realized who he was talking to and his face turned red. He noticed the guy we had our guns on and then said. "We got two more of his buddy's over there. "He pointed over to where a couple of others were being guarded. "What do you want to do with them?"

Susan looked at the kid in front of us and then at the two down a ways. "Let them go!" she said "Lets not waste any more ammo then we have to."

"That's fine with me." Charlie said and started to head back to the group with the two prisoners.

"No! You can't do this." The kid said to us. "We will be dead in a matter of hour's"

"Maybe you should of thought of that before you tried to kill my friends asshole!" Susan yelled at him.

The kid looked at her and then lowered his head in defeat. With out another word he turned around and started to walk away. He got ten feet from us when Susan side. "Hey kid!"

He turned around with a little hope in his eye's "Yea!"

Susan tossed him he pistol "This is more then you deserve. Now get out of here."

The kid caught the pistol and looked at it. He looked at us and for a split second I thought he might try and shot us. I raised my rifle again and tried to look menacing, but he just nodded his head and turned around and headed away from us. He was joined by his two buddy's who also had some guns that were given to them by us. They never looked back.

Susan scratched her cheek and then yelled "Lets get out of here! We need to get back and meet up with Pedro and get home."

As everyone started to get back in their trucks and get ready to move out I kept thinking about that kid. If Helen and me had kids when we wanted to they would have been about his age. The dog who never got out of the truck barked once and licked me on the face.


	42. Chapter 42

42

The trip back to the intersection we split up in was uneventful. There only being a few dead and wrecks on the road we had to dodge. I thought about that for a little while as we drove thinking that a few wrecks and a few dead on the road would have been very eventfully a month ago, but now it was just something that happened. Kind of like seeing a dead cat along side the road we were becoming immune to peoples suffering.

The kid was never very far from my thoughts as well. He didn't seem like the bad kind. Just trying to survive like the rest of us. He just came up with the short end of the stick. If our roles had been reversed they would of done the same if not worst. I know it was something we had to do, but it still bugged me.

Todd sitting next to me listen to our adventure in the manufacturing plant and said he wished he was there. He would of done far worst to Will then what we did. I didn't ask him to elaborate what that would of been, thinking that leaving him for the dead was bad enough already. I did ask what happen in the lumber yard before we got there. He got quite for a few seconds like he was composing his thoughts and then started to tell me.

"We got there with little or no contact with the dead." He started out. "Charlie had us shut and lock the gate and start loading up everything we could on the trucks and semi." He took a long breath. "It went pretty well at first. Not a problem at all actually. And then from no where that biker gang showed up and pulled there guns on us before we knew what was happing.."

"How did they get in if you locked the gates?" I asked.

"I think they saw us coming and after we got in they came behind us and cut the locks." He looked at me kind of embarrassingly. "I was suppose to be keeping an eye out. And I failed." He took another deep breath. "Charlie and the leader of the gang started to argue when they said they were going to take the trucks from us. Charlie didn't want them to, because it would of left us with no way to get out of there. The biker wanted them for better protection. Ridding a bike in a undead city was not the best thing in the world to do."

He fell silent and started to look out the passenger window at the passing country side. So I said "What happened next?"

He looked back at me. "When Charlie said over our dead body's would he give up the trucks the leader said fine with him, and he pulled out his gun. Charlie grabbed for it and they started to fight over control of it. And then there was a gun shot and the gang leader fell to the ground with blood all over his shirt holding his stomach." Todd paused for a second and then continued. "We were all stunned and before we knew what was happing everyone started to shot at each other. The shooting went on for I don't know how long before you guys showed up." He looked at me. "I'm glad you guys came because I don't think we would of gotten out of there alive with out you."

I was about to say something when th CB came alive with chatter. It was Pedro who saw us coming from a distance away. He asked how everyone was doing. Susan relayed what happened to us and then Charlie relayed what happen to his guys. By the time they got done talking we were at the intersection and Susan's truck was next to Pedro's. I could see the back of his truck and the others with him piled high in boxes.

He and Susan talked from there respective cabs for a few minutes. I saw Charlie jog on by me and head up to them. He stepped up on the side of Susan's truck and they started to talk. I couldn't tell what they were talking about and just figured they were talking about there individual adventures. I looked over at Todd who seemed to be looking out the passenger window and didn't seem like he wanted to talk so I just looked forward and watched the three ahead of me talk.

The CB came back on again but this time it was Alex's voice on the other end. "Pedro! Can you hear me?" He repeated over and over again. He voice seemed a little stressed out.

"I hear you Sir! What's the problem." Came Pedro's voice back over the radio.

"O! Thank goodness I got a hold of you." Alex said. "We got visitors coming to the front gate."

"What kind of visitors?" Pedro replied.

There was a pause kind of like Alex was talking to someone else and then "Five cars, and from I am being told they don't look friendly."

"Nothing personal Sir, but what do you mean they don't look friendly?" Pedro said.

"I was told that they saw one of the camera's on the road going north and got out and shot it." there was a pause. "I don't think that's friendly. Do you?" Alex said.

There was a longer pause and then Pedro came back with "We are at least an hour out but we are coming." With that I could smoke coming from the smoke stack of Pedro's rig as he hit the gas and started to pull out onto the road and head toward home.

"Please hurry." Alex said back over the radio.

Everyone seemed to hit there gas pedal at the same time because they were all taking off and getting behind Pedro who was in the lead. I saw Charlie run by heading to his truck. I hit the gas and started to move as well. The dog started to bark and wiggle his whole body. Todd patted on the head which made him the dogs best friend. And we were off to who new what.


	43. Chapter 43

43

The drive home was uneventful. We passed the same wreaks that we went by on our way out. Nothing changed as far as we could tell. We turned down the dirt road that lead to the ranch gate and as we came up to it Pedro came back over the CB to inform us that we would have to get out and strip down for inspection before we could go in. He wasn't going to take any chances on anyone being infected getting in to the ranch.

The convoy stopped in front of the gate and I could see several men in front of it waiting for us with Ralph in front. I nudged Todd who had falling asleep. "Wake up Todd. Were here."

He looked over at me. He looked sick as a dog. His face was pale and his eyes were glossy. He just nodded and started to get out of the truck. I got out as well with the dog jumping out from my side. Making my way up to the front of the line I could see Pedro, Susan and another guy up front already undressing and getting inspected as they put it. I didn't want to being a little embarrassed about my body, but knew there was no choice in the matter. I understood why they were doing it. I just didn't like it.

I came up to the side of Pedro and started to take my clothes off. As I bent down to get my shoes off I looked over at Pedro. Now I am not gay but I would have to say he was a fine specimen of a man. He was well muscled but not to much like you see in body builders. The only flaw if you would would be a large tattoo across his abdomen that said 13 forever. And another one on his shoulder that said In loving memory of Pedro. I thought that was kind of weired to have a tattoo of your name on your own shoulder.

As I stood up and raised my arms up so Ralph could look me over I asked "Who's Pedro?" I nodded to his shoulder tattoo.

Pedro looked at me for a second. "Its my brother. He was killed in a drive by."

"Sorry." was all I said not knowing what else to say. I dismissed asking why his brother had the same name as him. Thinking that it was weired but not my business. Heck Gorge Foreman named all his kids after himself, even his daughter.

I was thinking about asking about the other tattoo when I heard Ralph say behind me "I see you lost some weight there Kyle."

I looked down and to my surprise it did look like I lost some weight. I didn't have to stretch my neck to see over my stomach to see my feet. I wiggled my toes happy to myself. Ralph slapped me on the back and said to get dressed. As I bent down to get my pants I remembered the question I was going to ask Pedro, but he was already dressed and going over to talk to some of the guys by the gate.

I finished getting dressed and was about to go and find Pedro who disappeared when I heard Ralph behind me say. "What's that?"

I looked behind me to see Ralph standing in front of Todd pointing to his feet. Todd was looking down said "Its paint"

"Take your shoes off Todd." Ralph said.

Todd looked at him. "Why? Its just paint."

Ralph took a step back "Everyone strips down all the way for inspection Todd. Take you shoes off."

Todd was looking pretty pale now and looked like he was about to throw up, but he bent down to untie his shoes anyways. As he pulled on the strings of the first one he fell face first into the ground and was still. Ralph took a step towards him only to be stopped by Pedro who had come up from the front gate.

"Don't go near him!" Pedro said pointing his gun at Todd who laid there not moving.

Several others including me started to crowd around the comatose Todd, but no one got closer then four feet to him. We all just stared at him. After a few minutes of waiting for him to do something. Pedro finely inched forward and knelled down with his rifle pointed at Todd and nudged him with the end of his rifle. No movement.

"Is he dead?" Some one asked from the back.

Pedro bent down lower to look at Todd's face. "I don't think so." He said. "I can see him breathing in the dirt." he reached over and pushed on Todd's shoulder even harder. There was no response. Pedro finely reached over and turned Todd over to his back.

As he rolled over we could see that he had smashed his nose. There was blood seeping out of his nose and running down the side of his face. Pedro leaned over him and pulled a necklace out from under his shirt. He read something inscribed on it and then turned to the crowd. He looked us over and then his eyes settled on me.

"Kyle! Go get your wife now!" He turned to Todd laying on the ground. "He's having a seizure."


	44. Chapter 44

44

Everyone looked at me. I stood there parallelized for a second and then turned for the gate. I started to run for it when I noticed that it was opening up with several people behind it. There was Alex with several others and next to him was Helen. I forgot about Todd and everything else. The only thing I could see was her.

She broke away from the others when the gate was opened up enough to let her out and she ran into my arms. We hugged each other ferociously and kissed.

"I worried about you the whole time!" she whispered into my ear loudly.

I squeezed her tighter and said "You were never far from my thoughts."

"Thats a nice meeting and all, but we have a man down here. Can you help us out." Ralph said behind me.

Helen and I broke apart a little embarrassed. Then Helen saw Todd laying on the ground at Pedro's feet and grabbed a bag she had dropped on the ground and ran over to him. She knelled down to examen him with Pedro who pointed out the medical necklace around his neck. She started to rummage through her bag and talking in a low voice to Pedro.

I started to walk toward them when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Alex smiling at me.

"So how did everything go my man?" He said in an overly cheerful voice.

I looked at him and thought about everything that went on. "Susan and my group lost one and have another injured in her truck, but other then that we got everything." I paused for a second. "I don't know how the others did, but it looks like we got a lot of stuff."

Alex's smile went away for a second and then came back. "Well we knew there could be some lose." He patted me on the shoulder again. "I glad you made it though. Helen wouldn't shut up about you." Alex hobbled off to talk to some of the others.

As I watched him go I felt another hand on my shoulder. As I turned around I could see that it was Tracy.

"Where's Susan?" she asked her eyes red and swollen.

I looked over at Susan's truck parked next to the truck I was driving and could see that she was talking to Alex now and started to point to her when Tracy saw her as well and stormed over to her.

Susan and Alex saw her coming and turned to her. Before any of them could say anything Tracy open handedly slapped Susan across the face. Alex had a stunned look on his face and Susan had a large red welt on her cheek. Tracy then hugged her tight.

"Don't you ever leave like that again!" she sobbed.

Susan started to cry and hugged her back.

Alex looked at the truck I was driving and noting all the colors of dried paint on the front end making it look like a psychedelic rainbow truck turned to the girls. "So is this going to be your truck now?"

Tracy looked at the truck and then Alex not letting Susan out of her grasped. "Fuck you uncle."


	45. Chapter 45

(this is the end of the last chapter it dawned on me after I posted it enjoy)

45

It was chaotic for a little while outside the gate. It seemed that everyone from the ranch came out to see us. Alex, Pedro, and Tracy took control and started to get everyone back inside the fence. The supplies were moved in and Todd and Mark were taken to the main house where Helen could take care of them.

I was starting to get sore shoulders from everyone coming by clapping me on the shoulders. And for some reason or another I was being haled as the hero of the trip for saving Susan and busting out of the gate at the lumber yard. This brought even more pounding on my shoulders and a kiss on the cheek and hug from Tracy for saving her girl as she said it.

The people who stayed behind were busy while we were gone. They had continued to modify the remaining vehicles on the ranch for better protection and organizing into groups to perform certain duty's around the ranch. They had also butchered one of the pigs and roasted it over an open fire for a feast to celebrate our return. Alex was to have the leaders of the work groups as he called them at the main house for dinner and a planning meeting. I was surprised to be invited and told I was in charge of supplies.

About an hour after everyone was back inside and the sun went down Helen who just got done checking on her patients and I went down to the dinning room. When we got there we discovered Pedro, Tracy, Susan, Mark the engineer (not mark that was hurt on the trip), and four others were already there waiting for us with Alex.

Seeing that there were only two chairs left I realized that we were the last to and felt a little guilty about that. I smiled at everyone and held a chair for Helen to sit down in and took the only one left trying not to make eye contact with anyone. Helen held my hand under the table.

Alex stood up and raised his glass. "Here's to a successful first trip to the outside world." He took a drink and the rest of us followed suit.

Alex set his glass on the table and said. "I realize that a we don't know everyone here so allow me to make the introductions." He pointed to Pedro. "This is Pedro and he is in charge of security of the ranch" Pedro nodded and then Alex went in quick succession to every one else. Tracy was in charge of housing, Susan scavenging, Mark the engineer power, Helen medical, me supplies, Carl who wasn't there was food prep, Carly one of the four I didn't know was in charge of school and day care, Tony another one I didn't know was in charge of food production, Cathy was in charge of building, and the last one on at the table was Ivan who was in charge of communication.

After the introductions Alex invited us to eat while we talked and planed. There was 213 people at the ranch. 33 children, 10 elderly, and 70 between the age of 18 and 60. they were being divided up into work groups. Everyone around the table seemed to have ideals about how to go about this. I didn't. I just sat there and ate my meal. I never had roasted pig over a pit before, and had to say it was like no other pork product I had ever had.

"Mr Weathers?" I heard Alex call me and Helen squeezed my knee.

I was in my own world and when I looked up from my plate and realized everyone was staring at me. I set my fork down with a chunk of meat on it. "Sorry. I just haven't eaten all day and this is really good." I knew my excuse was lame considering they were planing our future at this table and I should have been paying more attention.

"Thats alright!" Alex said with a smile on his face. "I'm sure we can all understand that. As I was saying we need an accurate count of the supplies we have on the ranch and we were hoping you could do this."

I looked around the table and smiled a little. "I will get on it right after this."

Alex's smiled largely. "You had a long day. Why not just start tomorrow."

He went on and started to talk to the others on the table about what they needed and were going to do. I felt Helen squeeze my knee again and gave her a smile. She kissed my cheek. I looked around the table and noticed that Pedro and Susan seemed to be elsewhere as well. They were both fixated on their plates eating. Looking at the rest of the people at the table listening to Alex talk I wondered why we were the only ones that seemed so distracted.

After dinner Helen and I went up stairs to our room. Helen got changed and went to check on her patients. I changed in to some night cloths and laid the bed. I put my hands behind my head and thought about the trip today and the meeting. Just before I drifted off to sleep it dawned on me two things. One was why Pedro, Susan and me were so distracted at dinner. The others don't go out side the gate and are starting to forget what was out there. And two Alex's smile which he seemed to have all the time was more like a politicians smile, but his eyes were much older then he was. How much stress was he under trying to keep this place alive.

The dog jump on the bed and curled up next to me. I scratched his head and drifted off to sleep.


	46. Chapter 46

46

The next morning I woke up and got dressed. Helen was already gone. She was taking her medical duty seriously. They had set up a makeshift hospital in the garage in the back of the house. It wasn't much to look at but they were working on it. They had spent several days cleaning and remodeling it so it was workable. It was Helen's place. Her get away from it place. It was one of the things she was working towards before the end came. She wanted to be a nurse but because of the economy we could not afford to finish her schooling. It wasn't like we didn't have student loans or grants to finish the school. We just couldn't keep the house or anything if she went to school full time. I always new that made her sad, but there wasn't much we could do about it. But now it was like she was getting a taste of what it would have been like, and she was liking it alot.

As I walked down the stairs to head to my new job it dawned on me that the end of the world was a good thing for her. Alex had an extensive library that had a lot of medical books and when Helen wasn't bandaging or taking care of some one her nose was buried in the books. She was so into her study s that she would forget time and I would have to get her to eat or even come to bed.

"Hey! Kyle!" A voice came to me from the side. I looked over to see Ralph walking up to me from one of the side rooms.

I waved to him and said "Good Morning."

He came up and shook my hand "I came over to show you where were stashing all the supplies and introduce you to your work group."

I smiled and waved him to lead the way. Ralph was an odd kind of guy. He had been a ranch hand his whole life. He looked to be in his fifty's, but if the rumors were true he was really in his late sixty's. I never asked mainly because I didn't think it was my business. He seemed to be the kind of guy that followed orders happily and never seemed to want to be in charge. He had been at the ranch since Alex bought it.

As we walked out of the house I noticed a pitcher on the wall I never noticed before. Mostly because when I was in the house I was either eating in the dinning room or sleeping in my room so I never really looked around much. It was the women that helped me find the Dinning room that first day here. I pointed at it and asked "Who's that?"

Ralph stopped and looked at the portrait. "Thats Casey. Alex's wife." and he started to walk out the door.

"Where is she?" I asked.

Ralph stopped in his tracks and turned to me. He stared at me for a second a look coming over his eyes like he was thinking of something that was painful to remember and then just said.. "She's been dead for ten years now." He looked at the pitcher again a fond look coming to them now. "She was the most amazing person I have ever met." and with that he turned around and walked away faster.

I looked at the picture and had to think hard about that. If she was dead for ten years who was that I met on the first night. I haven't seen her since then. I looked over and could see Ralph was way ahead of me and had to jog to catch up. I realized I wasn't breathing hard. A month ago I would have been on the ground passed out. I was starting to realize how much weight I lost and on top of that I could see that I was starting to develop muscles. The picture was forgotten.

Ralph took me to one of the barns that weren't converted when everyone came to the ranch. When we walked in I could see that they had unloaded all the supplies from the day before in a pile in the middle of the floor. There were other supplies piled on the side of the walls and in stalls. There was five people in the barn and they all stopped what they were doing when we came in.

Ralph clapped me on the shoulder and said. "Lady's and Gentlemen this is Kyle Weathers and he is going to be in charge here."

I smiled and said "Hello."

"It's all yours now bud!" Ralph said and left the barn.

I watched him go and then turned back to the group in front of me. "So..... How is everyone today?" I said with nothing better to say. I stood there and stared at the group of people in front of me.

One of the two women came up to me and said. "I'm Francine and this is Frank, Toby, Charlotte, and Keith." as she said there names and pointed to them they all came up and shook my hand.

As the day started I had no ideal how to organize a supply room as they called it so I had them start to separate the supplies into different groups and stack them in different piles on the floor. As we worked I talked to them and found out a little about them. Other then Francine who's husband was a ranch hand here all the others were from the out side world and stumbled upon the place on the first day of the break out. Toby and Charlotte were married with three kids. Two off them were here with them on the ranch the other was away at college. They hoped he could make it to the ranch soon. I didn't have the hart to tell them that he was probably dead by now.

In the afternoon I had time to sit down at a make shift crate desk and start a list while the others continued to organize what we had. It was time consuming and tedious work, but it gave me time to think. Especially since I found out Frank was a warehouse supervisor before this all happened and made a great goto guy for what needed to be done. I still could not figure out why they wanted me to be the supply guy and not Frank. He did seem to be the better choice.

I thought about everything that happen in the last month. Including what we knew about the outside world. In the month after the out break most of the world fell. There were no governments except for Australia, North Korea, being the largest and a few small Island country's out in the pacific. No one expected help from them. The United States fared better then most country's though. Mainly because there were so many guns out there. The government fell or at least no one knew who was in charge. There were small pockets of survivors out there forming small community's out side the city's and trying to survive like us. From what we could tell other then a large group of 400 in Texas we were the largest. Ivan and his group worked day and night to keep communication with these groups up.

They kept communication up the best they could with radio's and so. Every once in a while they would lose contact with a group and we just assumed they were wiped out by the dead. Another problem with the outside world was raider's. There were a lot of them. They were groups mostly of gangs in pre-collapse world that traveled around raiding other survivors for their supplies, killing and raping as they went. Because of that and the fact that we ran into some of them and saw signs of them around the ranch Pedro had the largest group of people. His group patrolled around the fence 24-7 and were armed with the best weapons we had.

"Kyle?" A voice distracted me from my writing and thinking.

Looking up I saw Frank standing over me and my make shift crate desk. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just some guy showed up and asked if we had any welding wire for Mark so he can finish that generator thing he's been working on." Frank said.

I set the pencil in my hand down and said "Yea! What ever he needs to get it done." Power to the ranch was all important. The Generators we had would run out of gas soon and we had to find an alternate source of power soon. I was doubtful Marks generator would work, but with out any other ideals I just like everyone else hoped he was right and we were wrong.

Frank walked toward the barns front door where I say a man standing there waiting. They both walked over to a stacked pile and pulled a drum of welding wire from the pile and carried it over to a waiting truck. I stretched my arms and realized it was late afternoon. By the sun coming in the front door. I had been sitting at this desk for hours writing numbers and listing things. I needed to get out. Standing up a ideal came to me. I half jogged half walked over to the truck frank and the other guy were loading.

"Mine if I hitch a ride with you?" I asked.

The guy just stared at me. If I remembered right his name was Able. After a second he just shrugged and said "jump in."

I turned to Frank and said "Hold the fort down. I want to see what this stuff is being used for to make a better report you know."

Frank just smiled seeing right through my lie. "No prob boss. We'll take care of everything."

I gave a grateful smile and got in the passenger side of the truck. Frank just shook his head and waved at us as we took off.


	47. Chapter 47

47

We got to the out building about five minutes later. They called it a out building which would suggest it was a small building, but really it was the size of a three car garage. Mark had converted one section into a mechanics garage, another section into a work shop and reserved the last section for his generator. It just felt nice to be out of the barn and looking around. I didn't really care what the hell they were doing in there as long as it didn't concern me and numbers. Able didn't say a word to me the whole ride there. He didn't seem to be one of those who liked to talk a lot to me.

As we walked into the building all of Marks guys and one girl were busy doing projects. My truck from the trip out was up on jacks with the front end removed and a couple of men were working to fix what ever damage I did to it. Another group of five were busy in the workshop area and i couldn't tell what they were doing other then welding and cutting and bending things. We walked past them and into the generator area as they were calling it. Here there was about a half a dozen people crawling over the two turbines and one large electric motor we got out of the plant welding things and hooking up wires to boxes. It kind of reminded me of an ant hill. I couldn't make heads or tells of what they were doing.

"Nice to see you again Kyle!" came Mark's voice from behind me.

I turned around to see Mark and another guy standing there with the barrel of weld wire between them. They were both covered in grease, dirt and grim. Marks eyes looked tired. Which didn't surprise me. He left the dinner last night and began work on the generator. His people and him worked on it all night and all day.

"Good to see you to!" I said. "Just came by to see how you were doing?" The last I said like it was a question.

Mark and the other guy set the drum down and he looked at me. "You want to see it work?" He said with a smile a ten year old would give when given a piece of candy.

I was taken aback by this a little and just asked. "Is it up and running?"

"Not quiet yet!" he said with a smile. "It runs fine, but we have to hook it up to the ranch and secure it better to the ground. But Yea! It's running."

"I didn't believe it either until a few hours ago." Said the man with him.

I looked over at the ant hill and said "Well! Lets fire it up!"

"Never say fire around here! It makes some of the guys nervous!" Mark said and then smiled and walked past me. "OK guys get down and lets do another test run."

All the people jumped down from the machine they all had stupid smiles on their faces. Mark stepped up to it. He reached over to a large lever that looked like it came from Frankensteins castle and looked to me. "And they called me mad" and with a slightly crazy laugh pulled the lever down.

At first nothing happened. And then some wheels started to turn and one of the turbines started to move and then the other. A small read out by the lever started to flash numbers going up. I stepped closer and looked at them and then at mark.

"It works?" I said.

"No shit!" Mark said.

"What is this?" I pointed at the reader that said 2300 KW. I remember reading my power bill's and knew my house ran on about 1300 kilowatts a month. . "That only enough to run one small house two at the most?"

Mark looked at it. "Yea! I though that at first and then remembered we had crossed some wires on the reader. Thats not Kilowatts. It's mega watts."

It took me a little to figure it out but when it dawned on me I just looked slack jawed at Mark.

He smiled. "and its only running at half capacity!" He turned to some of his guys. "lets shut it down and finish up!" he flipped the lever back up to shut it off and then waved me over to the front door so his guys could get back to work.

"How the hell did you do that?" I asked when we got to the door.

"It's been in my head for about ten years now." he looked back at the machine. "I just never had the resources to build it."

I just stood there and stared at the thing. It was ugly for sure, but it worked. And it put out a lot of electricity at that.

"We do have a problem though!" Mark brought me back to the real world.

"Whats that?" I asked.

"We can only hook up the parts of the ranch that have power already. We need more high grade wire." he smiled at me. "Looks like your gonna have to go out again.

"Why Me?" I asked

Mark smiled "Your the supply guy remember. That makes you part of the scavengers as well."

I looked at the Machine again and to my self I said "Crap!"


	48. Chapter 48

48

Some one came in at 3 in the morning and woke me two days later. I wasn't sure who it was. They had just whispered in my ear that it was time and left. It was a female voice was all I could remember. I stumbled into the bathroom and got myself ready. I was tyeing my boots on I felt a hand on my back. I jumped and turned around. It was Helen.

"You scared the shit out of me." I said.

"I didn't mean to." She looked at me with her big doe eye's."I was afraid you were going to try and leave without saying good by."

"I wasn't going to do that honey!" I said with a smile giving her a hug. I really wasn't planning on waking her up. I didn't want her to start crying in front of me or anything. It would make it hard to leave then. And for some reason everyone seemed to be looking to me on this mission.

She hugged me tighter. "You are the worst lier I have ever met Kyle Weathers!"

I smiled and pulled her away to look at her face. "You are absolutely right Helen Weathers!"

She walked me to the bedroom door and we hugged again and told each other that we loved each other and that I would be careful. And then I stepped out and shut the door behind me. I could hear her fling herself on the bed and start to cry. I almost went back but knew everyone was waiting on me so I turned around and walked away.

Coming down the stairs I heard something behind me. I turned around and looked back up. The dog was at the top staring at me with a look that said you were going to leave me behind. I smiled and just patted my side and called him to me. I patted him on the head "I wouldn't forget you boy."

As we started to walk I noticed that he was a lot healthier these days to. He didn't have the lazy plump dog look to him he did a month ago. And I thought to myself that maybe the end of the world as we knew it was a good thing health wise. And then I thought about all the dead out there. And thought well maybe not.

As we came to the main entrance I was the woman again. I stopped and stared at her. She just smiled and waved to me and then walked into another room. I looked at the picture on the wall and then at the entrance to the room she went into. It looked like the same person to me. But if she was dead? And Alex had no children that I knew of?

I stood there debating this when I heard a half growl. I looked over at the dog who was at the door looking back at me. "Did you see that?" I asked it.

He looked to where I was pointing and then back at me with a look that said what are you talking about.

With one final look at the rooms entrance I walked to the main door and opened it for the dog and me. I was starting to think that I was going mad. We came out in the open parking area of the mansion. The dog went sniffing around for a place to go the bathroom and I went to meet up with the others assembled in the lot.

Pedro and Susan were there with about a dozen others. This was going to be a large expedition to the outside world. Most of them were gonna go to the surrounding areas. Farms mainly. There job was to scavenge as much as they could. They were also to make note of any farms that might be able to be secured from the dead or raiders. While we could grow some food here we couldn't hope to grow enough for everyone. So it was decided to try and find a farm that we could take over and secure to grow some for ourselves.

The ranch held several people that either farmed or grew up in a farming life. We even had a couple of pot growers that knew how to set up a hydroponics system that could help us grow more. If they couldn't find a good farm we thought about just planting a farm or two and let it grow wild coming back later to harvest.

I was to take a few guys and go to a Public Utillites storage yard about a hundred miles away. My job was to get as much power wires and any other supplies I could get my hands on. And to take note of the surrounding area. With no one knowing what the roads were like between here and there I was given plenty of supplies and wasn't expected to return for two days.

"Hows everything this morning?" I asked as I walked up to Pedro and Susan. Trying to sound non-chalice as I could.

Susan smiled and waved at me and Pedro just nodded. He made me very uncomfortable. Something about him bugged me. I couldn't put my finger on it. Almost like he was hiding something.

"Hope you had a good night sleep." Susan smiled. "You got a long drive ahead of you."

I nodded and said "Yep! Slept like a baby."

Pedro looked at me like I was lying. And I couldn't deny it. I was! I slept like crap moist of the night.

He didn't say anything about it but did say "I got a map for you." handing me a folded map. "I outlined what looks to be the best way for you to drive."

I unfolded it and took a look. He had outlined roads that were away from the towns in the area. "It looks like its a lot longer to get where I'm going on this. If I follow your directions?" I said.

"I drew it to make sure you didn't get into any trouble and to keep you away from areas that will have a large amount of dead in them. It will take you longer, but you are less likely to get into any trouble." Pedro said with a kind of disgusted look on his face.

I started to fold up the map and said "Thanks! I didn't think about that."

Pedro just shook his head. "Its time you started to think." and then walked away.

I watched him walk away when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning I saw Susan smiling at me.

"Don't worry about him Kyle." She looked at Pedro's back as he walked away. "He's just mad he doesn't get to come along this time. I don't think he likes being cooped up on this ranch like this."

I nodded in agreement even though I didn't think that was it. I said good luck and waved to Susan and headed for my truck. As I walked up to it I could see Dominic in the drivers seat. He was going to be my driver since I was suppose to be the leader of this group. As I got in the passenger side of the Dodge Ram he looked at me and nodded. I nodded back and then the line of trucks and cars started to move.

On the short drive to the front gate I looked at Dominic's face. He was one of the few people I knew from outside the ranch. Everyone knew him. He was a two time all state running back for High School football. He had a clear path to college and even had pro football teams looking at him. He was being Harald the next Emmit Smith. That was until the last game in his senior year. He was tackled and his back was broken. And even though he recovered he was never the same.

I didn't recognize him as the high school sports hero he was, but for his skin color. He was black. And a really dark black almost to the point that he was darker then the night. But that wasn't it either. It was a skin disorder he had. I couldn't remember what it was called but it caused some of his skin to turn almost white. In blotchy spots. He had one that looked like a hart on his cheek. With his darkness and the skin thing it made him stand out even more. I remember Helen telling me it was the same thing Micheal Jackson had. And that it was common if you could afford it to bleach your skin so it doesn't show up as much. But that was expensive and Jackson went to far with it in her mind.

We came up to the front gate and I could see Pedro Yelling at someone. I couldn't hear what was being said since the window was rolled up. I got out to see what the problem was. As I came up to the group of people that Pedro was in I could see a young kid on the ground looking up at him with daggers in his eyes.

"What the Fuck were you thinking dumb ass!" Pedro was yelling at him.

"I don't know what the big deal was!" The kid yelled back. "Its not like the dead can get in here anyways!"

Pedro's hand formed a fist and he raised it like he was going to strike the kid, but he lowered it in stead. "Get back your spot now!" He said in a low voice that was more scary then his yelling.

The kid jumped up and ran back into the make shift gourd shack they had built a week ago.

I came up to one of the guys in the back I recognized as Tommy one of Pedro's men. "What happened?" I asked.

Tommy turned around and looked at me. "Pedro came up to get the gate ready to open and he found Noah sound asleep in the gate house." He looked over at the house and then said "What a dumb ass!"

I was thinking the same thing when Pedro ordered the gate opened and the line of vehicles started to move. I ran to jump in the truck with Dominic and we were out the gate.

"What was that about?" Dominic said.

I looked behind me at the gate as it slowly faded into the dark. "Just some kid being stupid." Then it dawned on me I forgot the Dog. It was going to be pissed when I got back. That is if I got back.


	49. Chapter 49

49

As we came out of the road leading to the ranch Dominic, me and the other three vehicles with our group turned left while the others turned right. I rolled down the window and waved at them as we moved on down the road. I only saw one person wave back. I thought it was Susan, but wasn't to shure.

I rolled the window up and looked to Dominic "Well were on the road."

He just looked at me and said "Yep!" We didn't say anything for a while except for directions that I was reading on the map Pedro gave me. Every once in a while we would pass a wreak or a dead head that would chase after us. We didn't stop for anything for about an hour.

As we crested a hill on one of the back roads we were on Dominic stepped on the break. I was so engrossed in the map I fell forward and my head hit the dash board. Rubbing my head and thinking I should of put on a seat belt I looked at Dominic who was just staring out the front. I followed his stare and could see what looked like a small gas station and deli mart at the bottom of the hill. One of those ma and pa stores you see away from the big towns.

I looked at the map and then back at the station. "Thats funny its not the map."

Dominic looked over at the map and said. "Its probably to small to be on the map." He looked back at the place. "I say we take a look around and see what we can find."

I looked down at the place and couldn't see anything moving and looking at the area around it and all I saw was a old broken house a few hundred yards away. It looked like it had caught fire and was gutted. I couldn't think of a reason to say no. One of the things we were suppose to do was get supplies if we could. And the place looked to be vacant. I didn't think it could hurt to look around.

"Lets go!" I said with more eagerness then I felt. "We just make sure we leave look out for anything." I got out of the truck and walked back to the truck behind us. It had two guys that I didn't remember there names. The one on the passenger side rolled his window down and stuck his head out.

"Whats up?" he asked.

"Theres a old gas station down there with a mini mart. Where going to check it out." I said coming up to him. "I want you two to stay here and watch out for us. Give us a call on the radio if you see anything."

They both waved at me they under stood. And I waved at the others behind them to come forward. And then walked back to my truck. As I got in I picked up the receiver end of the radio and keyed it. "Can you guys hear me?" I said into it.

A few seconds later they came back. "Loud and clear boss!" I nodded to Dominic and he started to drive down to the station. We kept an eye out for any movement but didn't see any. As we pulled up to the station we looked in the front windows from the cab and still didn't see anything. We both looked at each other and just shrugged and got out of the truck.

As I came around the back side I saw the others getting out of there vehicles as well. I waved to one of the guys I remembered was named Mason. "Hey! Mason I want you to stay here and monitor the radio for us."

Mason came up to me but I could see that he wanted to go in to by the way he was eying the front door. He looked to me and finely said "OK! Just get me some beer."

I clapped him on the shoulder and said "Would a case do!"

He smiled and nodded. "That will do just fine." he said and then proceeded to go sit down in the passengers side of my truck to be by the radio.

I waved at the others to come and we started for the front door. I raised my rifle to point at the door and hoped there would be no one in the place. I could see out of the corner of my eye Dominic and another guy doing the same. The glass door was intact as I came up to it. I went to the side of the door like I remember seeing in the movies and peeked in.

I couldn't see much in the darken store but a few things knocked off the shelfs and a what I hoped was a large puddle of water on the floor by the cashers station. I looked over at Dominic who was standing about four feet from the front door and the other guy who had positioned himself on the other side. I nodded to them and they nodded back. With a look at the others gathered behind Dominic a grasped the pull handle of the door and pulled.

The door swung open with out a sound. We heard nothing from the in side but then a Dominic backed up waving his hand in front of him. The others started to do the same backing off. "Whats wrong?" I said coming from behind the door. I could smell it to now. Something was rotten in there. And it had fermented for a while. It was one of those smells you couldn't describe.

We all backed up from the door. "So what do we do now Kyle?" one of the guys said.

Looking at the open door from ten feet away and still smelling it I said. "We wait until it airs out."

"Do you think anythings in there?" One of the other guys said. "Like one of them dead heads"

"I don't know!" I said. "But I would think it would of came out if there had been."

The others agreed with that and we stood back and waited for the air to clear. Dominic pulled a pack of smokes out of his coat and after taking one handed them to me. I said thanks and took one handing the pack back and getting a light from him. I looked up the hill and could see the two look outs sitting on top of their truck smoking and watching us. I waved at them and they waved back.

We waited for about twenty minutes talking and joking around gathered around my truck. It was almost like we were just hanging out before the dead came to life. Then we heard a gun shot. We turned around raising our guns only to see a dead head fall to the ground forty feet from us with a bullet between the eyes.

"I saw that one coming from a mile away!" Came a voice over the radio.

I looked up the hill and could see one of the guys up top waving at us. I waved back. The rest of us just stood looking at the dead head. Laying face down in the road.

"I think that store might be aired out enough!" Dominic said.

Looking at the thing in the road I nodded. "Yea! Lets get this done with and back on the road." I really wasn't feeling good about this whole thing again.

We walked up to the store and peered inside. The smell wasn't as bad, but it wasn't good either. Dominic went in first followed by me and the others. There was no movement and we didn't hear anything. The puddle by the cashers desk I could see was a dark fluid. I still couldn't tell what it was in origins though. The others spreed out through the store and looked around. A couple of the guys went into a back room and came back a few minutes later nodding that the store was clear. I lowered my rifle and breathed out. I didn't realize I was holding my breath and when I breathed in again the smell got to me and I started to cough.

After I got done with the coughing I looked up at everyone. "Well lets load everything we can and get out of here."

There was a chorus of "Hell YA!" and "Right on!" as everyone lowered there weapons and started to grab stuff off the shelfs. I grabbed one of those small shopping carts by the front door and started to load it with cigarettes and lighters and anything else that I could get my hands on the desk behind the cashier station. Some of the guys say my ideal of the shopping cart and grabbed one themselves. There was some joking and swearing as some got to the things others wanted, but nothing serious since it was given that we would share.

When we got as much stuff as I could I stopped and headed for the door. Then I remembered what I told Mason. I turned around and saw Dominic by the coolers eating some chips out of a bag from a shelf. "Hey Dominic!" I said.

He stopped eating and looked up at me. "Ya! What?"

"You want to get a case of beer for Mason!" I smiled "I promised him one."

Dominic smiled and turned around to the cooler. Then a voice came from around the other end of the aisle. "Don't worry about it Kyle! I already got it!"

I looked at Mason and then at Dominic. Dominic looked at me and then his eyes went to the front door. I could see my truck out there. And as everything went quite again in the store I could hear the radio going off crazy from where I was. And then we heard the first shots.

I could hear some of the guys drop the stuff in there arms and several scramble to find their weapons they dropped to so they could pick up more stuff. I ducted and went to the door and crouched down. I peeked out the front into the street, but couldn't see anything. I moved out a little and could see the truck up top the hill. One of the guys was screaming into the radio. I could hear him from my truck twenty feet away. "Get the Fuck out now." he screamed. "there almost on top of you!"

The other guy just fired as fast as he could to the back of the store. I turned around and Yelled "There behind us!"

One of the guy ran to the back door and opened it up. I couldn't see what he saw but he shut it again and came back. "There coming from that burned out house. There about half way down to us."

"How many?" one of the others asked

"A lot!" was the only reply.

"shit!" I said. And then to the others "Lets get the fuck out of here!"


	50. Chapter 50

50

I ran for the truck and swung open the door. The others dropped everything and followed me. I reached for the ignition and realized the key wasn't there. I looked to the front door and could see Dominic coming out.

"Where's the fucking key!" I yelled.

"I got it!" He said coming up to the truck. "I'm driving get over!"

I didn't argue and slid over to the passenger side. I could see some of the dead heads to the side of the building they were heading for the two on top of the hill. Some of them were changing directions at the movement from the store. They were fast.

The others came running out of the store some of them still had goods in there arms. "Drop them and get the fuck out of here!" I yelled at them.

A couple did but two of them just stood there with dumb looks on their faces looking up the road the other direction. I looked and could see more dead coming down the road from the other direction. There had to be a hundred of them.

The ones behind the store started to reach the back and make their way around it when some of the guys started to fire at them. One came around the back side and took a gunshot blast to the head from Mason, who was still holding a case of beer in one hand and his shot gun in the other. He turned around to go for one of the trucks. Two of the others stopped before they got to the trucks and started to fire into the mass that was coming down.

"Kyle!" Dominic yelled. Just as a dead head slammed into the passenger side of the truck. It was a teenager from what I could tell. He wasn't much taller then me and was wearing a letterman's jacket. He smeared his face across the passenger window trying to get to me.

I turned to Dominic. "Drive!" I felt myself start to pee my pants.

Dominic turned the key and started the truck and shifted it to drive hitting the gas. We lurched forward and he cranked the wheel away from the mass coming at us from the front of us. The truck right behind us started to move as well. The Kid slid away from us and we felt a bump that I hopped was his head.

As we did a U-turn I could see that the two that stopped to shoot were not going to make it to there truck. Dominic turned to them and pulled up to their side. I rolled down the window screaming for them to jump in the back. As they crawled in I could see that the truck behind us had picked up Mason and another guy.

As we got back on the road and started to head back up the hill we could see the two on top waving us away and getting in their truck. They gunned it down the hill waving us away. Dominic not questioning it turned up the hill behind the store. Ten feet off the road we hit our first dead heads. Dominic tried to only glance off them but we were still slowing down because of the ground and dead heads in our way.

"Where did they all come from!" Dominic said.

Looking behind us to make sure the others were with us. "I don't know!" I could see the guys in the back and of each truck were firing at the Zombies trying to keep them away from the trucks. We plowed through the crowd and came out behind the group on the hill. I could see the top of the hill where the two look outs were was covered in dead heads. Hundreds of them. And they were all coming in our direction. I noticed some of them seemed to be wearing military uniforms.

"Shit!" Dominic said and jammed on the breaks. Slamming me into the dash board and knocking the two in the back to the floor of the back of the truck.

I came up holding my fore head. "What?" and then I saw. It was a sprawling camp about a hundred yards in front of us. There were military trucks and civilian vehicles all over. Tents and piles of supplies. It looked like a tornado went through it. And there had to be a few thousand dead in it. And I swear they all looked at me and started to run at me.

"I think I just pissed myself!" Dominic said.

"Your not the only one!" I said. "Drive!" I yelled and pointed at what I thought looked to be the least populated section of the area.

The rear wheels dug into the ground shooting up dirt and rocks and we began to move to the right of the tent city. Dominic hit several of the dead heads as we came down to the city limits. He cranked the wheel both ways trying to dodge the dead heads as he drove around the outside of the camp. I could see hundreds of dead coming up to us. Dominic just pressed the gas as hard as he could.

I looked behind us and could see the other two trucks right behind us. Then we went over a large rock or log. The truck jumped into the air sending the two guys in back in the air and back down to the bed of the truck. As the next truck went over it I could see the one of the guys in the back of that truck wasn't as lucky. He bounced right out and to the ground. The third truck just drove pass him.

I could see him get up on one knee and start to fire into the crowd of dead coming at him. Just as they were about to get him I could see him point the end of his rifle into his mouth. And then the crowd closed over him and I saw what looked like a bullet tear out of the pile going up in the air. I hoped it was him blowing his brains out.

I turned back to the front and could see that we had gotten out of the tent area and were in more or less clear area. We passed a sign and I turned back to read it. It was written by some one who had taken some time to make it look official.

Welcome to US Army Relief Center Camp #1103

I turned around and just stared out the front windshield.


	51. Chapter 51

51

We drove for about an half hour when Dominic said "Where are we?" This took me out of my trance. I shook my head and looked at the map. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but we were not that far from the road we where suppose to be on. I gave him directions as we drove and with in an hour we were back on the right road again.

"So what the hell was that back there?" Dominic said.

I sat there for a minute and thought about it. "I think it was a camp for the people the military was saving when this happened." I looked at the map.

"We were in the middle of nowhere though!" He said to me in a high voice.

"They probably picked that location so they could secure it better." I paused "A fat lot of good that did them."

"Ya!" said Dominic. "I think we got lucky there."

"How do you figure that? We lost two trucks and one guy!" I snapped at him.

He looked at me with hurt eyes. "We could of all been lost back there."

I stayed quite and just read the map. He was right. I still felt guilty though. I should of said no to stopping. I should of made sure that Mason was on guard duty. I should of done a lot of things. It just made me think that I shouldn't be in charge of the whole thing. It made me feel like crap. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.

After a while Dominic turned to me. "Whats wrong? Were alive and moving!"

I looked at him. "I shouldn't be in charge of this.... " I paused "I'm not a leader. Never have been."

Dominic stayed quite for a while and then said. "You know I use to think the same thing." He paused to see if he had my attention. "My coach use to say that true leadership comes from adversity and Panic." He smiled at me. "He said when your in the pocket and its collapsing around you you start to panic but your senses kick in and you do the right thing most of the time...." He paused again. "You back there in that panicky voice of yours got us moving and got us out of there. You said the right things even though you might not of seen it as that way. Were alive because of you"

I thought about it and then said. "I should of made sure Mason stayed where he was suppose to be. Thats not leadership. And your coach was full of shit"

"Thats true but everyone makes mistakes too." Dominic said with a smile. "Thats how we learn."

His words made me feel a little better, but not much. He may not hold a grudge against me for being a failure but we still lost two trucks and a guy and I couldn't help but feel it was my fault. I decided to let it drop and concentrate on getting us to the yard which was only thirty miles away as the crow flies I was thinking, but with the route we were taking was still a hundred miles away. I smiled to myself. Who the fuck coined the phrase as the crow flies and why.

I was still smiling to myself when the radio came alive in font of me. "Kyle! Are you there?"

I recognized the voice as that of one of the two guys in the last truck. I picked up the receiver and pressed the button. "Ya! I'm here. What do you guys need."

A few seconds went by and then "Me and Toby here need to take a piss. Can we pull over?"

Toby must be the name of one of the guys in the truck I figured. Now if I could just remember the other guys name. I clicked the button again. "Dominic and me already went back there a ways..." I smiled at Dominic who gave me a angry smile look and then continued. "but if you need to start to keep an eye out for what might look like a safe place." I let go of the button to wait for a response.

It took a minute. I figured they were probably laughing at Dominic and me. That was OK with me. We needed a laugh to relive some stress any ways. I read that somewhere a long time ago. The voice came back a minute later sounding almost cheery. "Were keeping an eye out." there was a pause and then "Should we look for a farm house with some clothes lines of clothes for you two?"

With out thinking I pushed the button "That would be great!"

I saw Dominic out of the corner of my eye hit his head against the steering wheel laughing. I just stared at him trying to figure out what he was laughing at. I finely said "What are you laughing at?"

He slobbered up a little and looked at me. Then a smile splayed across his face. "You really don't know do you?"

"Know what?" I said perplexed.

"O! God almighty!" he just said and kept on driving chuckling to himself.

It was another mile down the road when it hit me. I started to laugh. Dominic who got over it just started and shack his head and smile that smile when you know your with a clueless person.


	52. Chapter 52

52

It was about another ten miles when we came across a small field. It was open and clear. I figured we could park in the middle of it and the guys can go to the bathroom and we would have a clear view all around and plenty of time to get out of there of any dead came along. I radioed it the others and they all agreed. We pulled into the field and parked in a three vehicle circle. It was more of a triangle.

Toby and the other guy (I still hadn't figured out his name) jumped out and immediately unzipped and started to go. I got out and looked at my pants. They were still wet.

"You weren't kidding! Were you Kyle." Mason said coming up to me with a box of beer under his arm.

I looked at him for a second. "You were suppose to be the radio guy back there Mason. What were you thinking?"

Mason just pulled a beer out of the box he was holding and handed it to me. "You didn't say that the second time we went in to that place."

I raised my hand ready to say something else but it all went out of my head when he said that. I just reached out and took the beer. I opened it and took a long drink of it. It was warm and tasted like a light beer, but it was wonderful. I held it out and read it. Coors light. I didn't even care.

Several of the others came up to us and took some beers themselves. We stood around just happy to be stretching our legs and talking about little things. No one said a thing about what happened back at the store. I had a second and then a third beer. It had been a while since I had any and I was starting to feel the funny thing you get when you start to be buzzed. I liked it and started to reach for another one. When a hand stopped me.

I looked up to see Dominic. "What?" I asked.

He just held his finger up to his mouth and pointed back at the road. We all followed his hand. There on the road was about a half dozen shambling dead walking along the road. We all duct behind the trucks and watched them. They hadn't seen us and seemed to be just walking down the road with out a care in the world. If it wasn't for the fact that we could see a few of them with missing arms or a head cocked at an odd angle we would of just assumed they were just a family out for a stroll.

As they moved out of site of where we were I stood up only to be pulled down by Dominic. I looked at him with annoyance and he just pointed. I followed his hand again. Down the road came some more dead. Some of these ones had military uniforms. We watched as more and more came went by. There seemed to be no end in site. None of them saw us or even payed attention to us. We just crouched behind the trucks and watched them go by. We sat there waiting for them to go by for a couple of hours. The line slowly dwindled to a few here and there, but it seemed like it was slacking off.

"Where did they come from?" Mason whispered next to me.

Watching one of them waling by dragging its foot behind it I said "I don't know for sure but I think from that camp we ran across."

"That was almost twenty miles from here!" One of the other guys whispered.

"That was the only other place I saw dead heads with uniform's on" I whispered back watching a little girl missing an arm and caring a teddy bear in the other shamble pass.

"Why didn't they come after us?" another guy said. "They had to see us?"

I thought about it and then said "I didn't see one of them look toward us. Maybe they are just following the road they last saw us on!"

"We turned onto several roads since we saw them last!" Mason whispered.

I looked at him. "I have no ideal why they haven't seen us or why they are on this road." I paused for a second. "I do know they ain't coming after us right now and I want it to stay that way. So stay quiet."

"Ain't! Ain't a word!" Dominic whispered to me.

A couple of the guys snickered to this and then we stayed quite while we waited for the stragglers to walk by. We waited for a half hour after we saw the last one walk by before we decided to get out of there. We started to get in our trucks making room for everyone to fit in the cabs. There was three in each one and we started the engines and started to move.

A dead head came into site following the others just then and saw us. It pointed its hand and started to moan and run after us.

"Gun it!" I yelled at Dominic.

He hit the gas and we aimed right at it. It had come into the field at a full run. Just before we hit it it tripped and fell down in front of us. The truck went right over it. I looked back and saw it lift itself up and look back at us. One of its eyes was missing and then it disappeared and a cloud of red and black mist as the truck behind us hit it full on.

"Shit!" Dominic and John (the other guy in the cab with us) said together.

I looked back around and saw several more dead come into view up the road. I looked back down the way the other dead had gone and could see a few more turning around and heading back towards us. This was not turning out to be a good day. I turned back and looked at the ones coming at us from the other direction and realized these were the slower of the pack that went by us.

Pointing in that direction I yelled "That way!"

Dominic pressed the gas as hard as he could and we leaped onto the road and turned into the dead heading our way. I rolled down the window and put my rifle out to try and shoot a few before we hit them. I pulled the trigger and watched as a round hit the ground in front of one of them. There had to be two dozen in front of us. I pulled the trigger again and hit one in the leg knocking it to the ground.

"Nice shot!" I heard John say as he braced himself against the dash board of the truck.

Dominic aimed the truck dead on the middle of a pack of about ten dead heads. As the truck plowed into them they were knocked all over the place hitting some of the other dead heads who turned to intercept us.. The truck bounced over others and the jarring caused me to loose my grip on my rifle. It dropped to the ground. I watched it bounce as we drove by it. I turned back inside to tell Dominic and John what happened when one of the Zombies latched on to my arm through the window.

I screamed and tried to pull away, but it had me with both of its hands. Dominic started to weave back and forth to try and knock it off, but it wouldn't let go of its meal. On the positive side the swerving kept it from hosting itself up and biting me. On the down side it was taking all I had to keep my arm from being riped out at the socket. I could see its teeth chomping four inches away from my arm. The thing was unable to pull itself up to bite though.

John reached over and stabbed it in the wrist trying to make it let go. The knife went through its wrist and embedded itself in the door. The dead head never let go or even showed any emotion like it was stabbed. But with the knife now holding it to the truck it realized that it could pull itself up more easily. I put my other hand on its fore head and pushed its head away from me. Its teeth were still chomping at me. It was tacking all the strength I had to keep it from biting me.

John tried to pull the knife out but it was jammed. He then he tried to punch the thing in the nose. This just caused me to loose my grip on its forehead, witch caused its head to wipe forward and smash into the truck door a inch from my arm. As it raised its head again I put my hand back on its head.

"You are not helping!" I yelled.

"Sorry!" John yelled back and started to look behind the seat for something to help.

"Use your gun!" Dominic said and then turned right hard to avoid another dead in the road.

John looked at him and then reached for his rifle. He pulled it up but the shoulder strap was wrapped around my foot. As he pulled it lifted my leg pushing me closer to the thing hanging on my arm. I was looking eye to eye with it. We were almost nose to nose. I could feel my arm getting weak and it starting to get closer to its meal. I am not religious man but I sure as shit started to pray then and there. The look in its eye said almost there.

Then something brown went by us and the thing wasn't there anymore. Just its hand grabbing onto my arm with the knife through its wrist. I look back behind us and could see a large tree receding behind us. I could also the dead head laying in a crumpled mess on the ground by it. Dominic had side swiped a tree to get the thing off.

I leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to John who was smiling at me.

"Can I have my knife back?" He pointed to the knife still sticking out of the wrist of the hand that was holding onto my arm.

I pulled the knife with a grunt and handed it to him. I then pried the hand off my arm and let it fall to the ground. As I rolled up the window Dominic pulled back up onto the road. I turned to Him and John and said. "If you don't mind I'm gonna take a nap!" and then promptly passed out.


	53. Chapter 53

53

I woke up sometime later. I had a head ache from hell. Dominic and John were standing in the front of the truck engrossed in the map we were using to drive by. They had it spreed across the hood. I looked around and could see we were parked on some side road with large trees and bushes all around us. I looked behind us and could see the other two trucks parked behind us with no one in them.

"Your awake!" I heard John say.

I turned back around and looked at them through the windshield. "Where are we?"

"About forty miles from that field we were in. On a side road off of the main road." Dominic said.

I opened the door and tried to get out. As I leaned to get out I felt the seat belt tighten up around my waist. I looked at it dumbly. I didn't remember buckling it.

"I strapped you in!" John said from the front of the truck.

I nodded and unbuckled it and stepped out of the truck. I looked at my arm and noticed it had a dark black and blue bruise in the shape of a hand on my forearm. I flexed my hand and grimace as I felt pain shoot through my arm. I inspected it some more to make sure there was no skin breakage and found none. It hurt but I didn't think it was as bad as it could of been.

Walking around the front of the truck I stood next to John who had Dominic on his other side. "So where is everyone else?" I asked.

Dominic looked at me with a smile and pointed back behind the trucks. "Their checking out a farm house over there!"

I followed his finger to where it was pointing and could just make out what looked kind of like a barn through the trees. "Why are they doing that?"

"Their checking it out to see if its safe to stay there tonight." John said.

I felt my head start to hurt. "What do you mean the night?"

"We only got a few hours before dark and we didn't want to be caught out in the open when the night comes." Dominic said.

I looked up in the sky and could see that the sun was starting to get lower, and wondered how long was I out. "How long was I out?"

Dominic smiled again. "about four hours" he reached around john and clasped me on the back. "You got lucky and we all thought it would be a good Ideal if we just let you sleep."

I took a deep breath and said thanks to them and started to walk around a little to stretch my legs. As I came around the back end of the truck looking at the ground I felt a rifles barrel pushed up against my forehead. I stopped in my tracks and raised my eyes but not moving another muscle. A man in a camouflage uniform and paint stood in front of me with his rifle pointed at me. I turned my eyes to look back at the other two only to see two other men behind them with rifles at there backs.

"How many others are with you?" The man in front of me said.

I stared at the barrel of the rifle pressed against my forehead and stammered "nine I think."

"What do you mean think?" The man said pushing the barrel a little harder against my head.

"I don't know what you mean!" I raised my hands a little. "including us?" I kind of wave at the other two.

"Put it down Corporeal!" A voice came from behind me.

The rifle went down immediately and the man in front of me backed off a couple of feet. He still had the rifle pointed at me though.

I felt a tap on my shoulder "Sorry for the surprise."

I turned around to face the man behind me. He stood about my height and had the same kind of clothes as the others. I could make out what looked like captains bars on the front of his camo parka. At least thats what I thought the emblem meant. From the different army movies I've seen over the years.

"Thats OK!" I said "You can't be to careful these days." I smiled a smile I didn't feel.

The man looked at me for a second. "Thats very true." He waved to the others and they backed off Dominic and John. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"We were looking for a place to stay for the night." I said immediately. "We were on our way to get some supplies and didn't want to get caught in the open with nightfall."

The Captain just nodded like thats what he thought then extended his hand out to me. "My names Captain Wes Oliver of the 306th special operations group United States Army."

I reached out and took his hand. "My names Kyle Weathers" I paused to think of where I was from. "Of the Hornbeck Ranch."

Oliver nodded and said "We can put you up for the night in return for some supplies and some information." he smiled "All of your other buddies are in the barn under guard until we could contact you."

I wasn't surprised by this for some reason but asked "What kind of information?"

"O! You know! Where all the good hang outs are. And the good looking woman." He smiled and half laughed. "And the Doc might have a few questions for you." He waved us towards the farm house.

I nodded and started in that direction. Then I asked "Doc who?"


	54. Chapter 54

54

As we made our way through the bush's towards the farm house Captain Oliver explained how they got there. They were on a mission for the Doc as he called him to a refugee camp not far from here. When they got there they didn't even land. It had already been overran with the dead and they decided to try and get back to a safe place. I wondered if that was the same place we ran through.

The helicopter that they were on had mechanical difficulties and the pilot had to ditch it on the far side of the farm house in a muddy field. Both the pilot and co-pilot died in the effort but the Doc, Oliver and seven of his men survived. They were told to sit tight until a rescue group could make it to them, so they set up a camp in the farm house. Whoever owned it left it well stocked but were no where in the area.

They lost contact with head quarters about three weeks ago and haven't been able to contact anyone since then. So they just stayed here. There were no running vehicles on the property they could use to get out of there unless they wanted to ride a tracker. And none of them were hot on the ideal of hoofing it out of there either.

They had plenty of ammo and equipment and with the house being well supplied they figured they could hold out for a while. The Doc was busy with a few experiments he had going in the hopes of finding a cure for the dead but oliver didn't have much hope of that. He figured the only cure would be a bullet to the head.

As we came out of the wooded area I heard Dominic swear and I turned around to see him raising his rifle up to the far side of the field we entered. I looked to where he was going with it and could see two walking dead coming our way about a hundred yards away.

Before he could fire though one of the solders knocked the rifle's barrel down and said "Don't bother!"

Dominic looked at him scathingly "What do you mean? Don't bother?" He pointed in the dead heads direction "You gonna let them just come up and take a bite out of us?"

Captain Oliver came up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "I don't think you can make a head shot from this distance with that little pee shooter. And if you fired the noise would bring a lot more of them."

"So what are suppose to do let them come up and we fight them hand to hand?" Dominic said with a sneer.

Just them the lead zombies head disappeared in a red haze. It slowly fell to its knees and then tipped over to its side. A few seconds later the same happened to the other one.

Oliver smiled and said "No! Well let Kirby take care of them." He pointed to the farm house's second floor where we could see the barrel of a rifle pointing out from one of the bedrooms.

"I didn't hear anything?" I said allowed.

"And you won't. He's got a silencer on his snipper rifle." Oliver said and then waved to two of his men with us. " Corporeal Docker and privet Lyme go take care of the body's please." They nodded and took off after the two body's laying in the field.

"So......What are you going to do with them?" I asked.

Oliver started toward the farm house again. "Well see if the doc wants anything to do with them and if not well burn them to night."

I started after them a when Dominic came up to his side. "How do we know your military?" he asked.

Oliver stopped and looked at him. "Did you not notice our uniforms?"

"Ya! I noticed them. I also noticed that they didn't salute you either." He said hooking his thumb towards the two solders heading for the dead heads in the field.

The Captain looked a little perplexed and then said in a tone of voice of someone speaking to a person with out a lot of intelligence. "We don't salute outside of base. Its a habit we developed over the years so commanders don't become targets of snipers." He then turned back to the farm house and started to walk again.

Dominic scratched his head and started after him. I came up beside him and smiled "Does forest understand?"

He just hit me in the shoulder and smiled.


	55. Chapter 55

55

As we came into the house it was like night and day. From the outside the farm house looked vacant but once you walked in we were hit by sounds and lite from everywhere. We could hear a radio going off in the back somewhere music to our left and it looked like every light in the house was on. There were several men in military gear walking around the house like they were busy doing something important. I had no ideal what it was though. I turned around in the entry way and saw that they had nailed heavy carpets and blankets to all the windows.

Captain Oliver was on the other side of the room talking in a quiet voice to one of his men. He turned towards Dominic and me standing in the entryway and smiled. "Shut the door. I'm sending one of my men to go get your friends in the barn." he then waved to us to come over to him. "Let me show you to the doc. He would like to talk to you undoubtedly."

I looked over at Dominic and just shrugged and started to follow the Captain who was disappearing through a door way on the other side of the room. As I hurried to catch up a couple of the men in the room nodded to me and smiled. I nodded back like I knew what was going on. As I came into the next room I could see it was the kitchen. On one side a man stood over a chopping boards chopping up some vegetables while something was cooking in a large pot behind him on the stove. On the other side of the room on a small table sat another man fiddling with a radio and Captain Oliver reading something on a piece of paper.

"Keep doing what you can Terry" I heard him say as he set the papers back down on the table.

Terry said "Yes sir!" and kept fiddling with the knobs of the radio and holding some sort of earphone to his ear. I wasn't to sure why he was holding it to his head like that. I could hear the static from across the room.

"Gentlemen!" I heard Oliver say as he opened a door with a smile to what I assumed was the basement and waved us in.

I smiled but was feeling a little uncomfortable at the jester. I mean whose to say they wont lock us up and throw away the key or something. I knew we didn't have a real choice so I just smiled and went through the door.

As I went through I could see that the basement was not lite as well as the rest of the house. I could see the wooden stairs leading down the side of the wall. And I could see the floor at the bottom but nothing else but a wall a few feet from the end of the stairs. I walked down them. I could hear the steps creak with each step. I started to wonder if they may give out and I go tumbling down only to break my neck at the bottom. I kept going anyways and got to the bottom and realized that at the bottom I just had to turn to the side to see the rest of the basement.

It was larger then the basement from my home and it was divided in half by a fence from the ground to the ceiling. On my side I could see shelves of canned food and other odds and ends you would expect to see in a basement. Old mattresses and boxes stacked or piled high. I was looking a some canned pickles that were sitting at eye level with me and thinking those would taste pretty good right now. My stomach growled in agreement. W hitch with that thought made me think why I would think my stomach had a brain itself and why would it be talking to me.

"Hey Doc!" Oliver called from behind me. "We got a couple of men from outside here."

I turned around to see who he was talking to when something with a loud moan crashed into the fence I was standing next to. I fell back and tripped over my own feet and fell to the ground on my ass. Looking at the fence I could see a dead head pressed up against it trying its best to get to me. Other then it being white from no blood in its face and the large chunk missing from its neck it looked like it was alive. Its eyes were milky and I could see its teeth were lined in a sickly red color.

"This is the Doc?" I sad pointing at the thing.

Oliver just chuckled and pointed to the other side of the room. "No! Thats shit for brains! This is the Doc."

An older man came out of the darkness of the far side of the room. He stood just shy of six feet tall. He had a narrow face and his brown hair had large chunks of gray going through it. He looked like he was in his mid to late forty's. He wasn't over weight or extremely skinny like I remember most Doctors being. If anything he looked well built. Like he could be one of Olivers troops.

"Its a pleasure to meet you!" He said in a vaguely aggressive voice. He stuck out his had to shake mine. "My names Simmons"

I picked myself up off the floor and with a look at the thing at the fence extended my hand out to shake the Doc's. "My names Kyle."

When our hands met he didn't shake it but turned mine over and began to look at it like he was looking for something. He then felt for a pulse and started to talk. "How are you feeling. Have you been sick or been feeling healthy?"

I looked over at Dominic and Oliver who just shrugged like it was nothing knew and I should just go with it. I turned to the doctor who was now looking at me, or more at my face. "I feel fine. I haven't been sick for a long time."

He nodded like I said something genius and just said "Good! Good!" He released my hands and went over to Dominic and started the same thing over again.

Oliver came over to my side and I whispered to him. "Is he OK."

Oliver watched the Doc for a second and then shrugged. "About as good as anyone can be in these days."

I had to nod in agreement to this. Considering how the world has gone I was acully surprised I wasn't a nut case. Then I started to think about all my actions over the last month and wondered if I wasn't a little on the nutty side.

Oliver spoke up again. "Hes a little over probably because he blames himself for the dead coming back to life and killing everyone. "

I looked at the doc going over Dominic's facial abnormality and back at Oliver. My head wiped so fast I could feel the muscles in my neck tweeck. "What do you mean blames himself?"

Oliver smiled and shook his head. "Yea! He knew about this two years ago." He paused for a second. "The thing that really bugs him is we missed our chance to get a cure for this virus a month ago when it all started."


	56. Chapter 56

56

I stood there staring blankly at Oliver. I could not believe what I was hearing. I felt my hand curl up in a fist, and a anger start to come over me. I looked over at the man that could of prevented this. He was just getting done with his inspection of Dominic and turned toward me with a smile on his face. I took a step toward him and brought my fist back to smash him in the face as hard as I could. As I swung if forward the smile ran away from his face and his eyes got big. My swing never reached him as a hand reached out and grabbed my wrist.

"I think you miss understood me!" Oliver said pulling my hand down. "He saw it coming and he didn't get the right people to listen."

Anger and rage was filling me. I turned to Oliver with a evil look at the Doctor. "What people?"

"Let me tell them Captain!" Doctor Simmons said to Oliver. He turned to me and with a glance at Dominic waved us to a couple of chairs in the corner of the basement. "Please have a seat this may be a long story."

Oliver let go of my wrist. I looked at him and with his jester for me to sit I walked over to the chair and sat. Dominic came over to me and sat in the chair to my right.

"What's going on?" He said to me in a low voice.

I didn't answer and just stared at the Doctor.

The Simmons stroked his chin and his face got all serious. "Yes I know where the virus came from. And yes I feel like I could of prevented it." He inhaled deeply. "I was an idiot and to much of a loyalist to make my voice heard above anyone else's." he looked down at the ground. "And yes I was a little greedy."

"Doc!" Oliver came over to his side and put his hand on his shoulder. "Just tell them from the beginning, just like you told us."

The doctor nodded and started to talk. "Three years ago I was the Presidents advisor. I Advised mainly on medical, scientific, and research options. Mainly research for the FDA and EPA. " He stopped and looked at us to make sure we were listening. And then continued. "Then there was the economic stimulus plan two years ago."

The doctor started to walk back and forth in a agitated way. "It was section 20 line 14 that would set the stage for all of this." He waved his hand toward the dead head behind the chain link fence across the room. "It was suppose to relax restrictions and pave the way for the introduction of new products to the market and create more jobs." He looked at us "It was mostly the ideal of the bitch of a wife the President had."

"She wasn't a bitch dude!" Dominic jumped out of his chair pointing his finger at the doctor.

The Doctor just smiled. "I spent a lot of time in the white house and I assure you she was the biggest bitch in the world. She was the true power behind the thrown." He waved at Dominic to sit again. "The President had a good heart and truly wanted to help the people, but he was completely dominated by her." He stopped to see if Dominic or me wanted to say anything.

"How would relaxing restrictions and creating jobs cause that to happen?" I asked pointing at the thing across the room.

The Doctor nodded and continued. "It relaxed the amount and kind of chemicals that can be used in products to get the results company's wanted for the products they wanted to have sold to the public." He walked over to a desk and picked something up and turned and tossed it to me.

I caught it and looked at the thing in my hand. It was a small brown bottle with a cap and a blue label. The label read skin revitalization and wrinkle removal cream. Looking up at the Doctor I was starting to think this guy was really crazy. "You think a wrinkle removal cream did all this?" I asked.

The doctor smiled and nodded. "It seems kind of crazy doesn't it?" he paused for a second "The cream is pretty much harmless and to the average person wouldn't cause any problems." He paused for a second. "Unless you have O- blood with a case of xeroderma pigmentosum. Like the first lady." He paused to see if we were paying attention to what he said.

I looked down at the bottle in my hand and then back at the doctor. "What is xeder whatever that is that you said?"

"Its a rare skin condition." Dominic said. "it causes a person to be ultra sensitive to UV light."

I looked at him "How do you know that?"

Dominic just pointed to his cheek with the bleached mark of a hart. "Ive done a lot of reading on skin conditions."

"Thats right sir!" The doctor said with a smile of a teacher finding out there student was smarter then they thought. "It also causes the skin to age faster then the average person. Kind of like someone who's been in the sun all there life even though they might only get a few hours a day or month."

"And the first lady has this?" I said.

"Yes she does!" The doctor said. "And her embarrassment drove her to push her husband to relax restrictions so a pharmaceutical company could push that medicine through and to the market."

"What does this have to do with that?" I asked holding up the bottle with one hand and pointing to the thing across the room. It moaned loud. Like it knew we were talking about it.

The doctor just glanced at the thing and looked at me. "Some of the chemicals in that stuff when absorbed through the skin causes a reaction at the molecular level of ones DNA. It changes your DNA and mutates. Causing the person to die but revive in the form we have here." He said pointing at the dead head. "once in the body of someone like the first lady it mutated so when they passed on any germs say from a bite it passed on to the next person. When they die they lose most of the reasoning functions and just retain their survival drive. Why they just want to go after humans; I couldn't tell you."

"So your saying the first lady caused all this?" Dominic said.

"Not all of it!" The doctor said. "We figure there were maybe two hundred in the world that had that specific blood type and skin condition. And maybe a half dozen of them took this stuff and it spreed from there. By the time we realized what happen it was to late to stop it."

"But Capitan Oliver said you had a cure you let get away?" I said.

The doctor nodded. "It wasn't a cure. The infected are dead and theres nothing you can do for that." He started to pace back and forth. "We had in theory a immunity that could be developed from the blood of some one that had the exact opposite of what the first lady had."

"And what is that?" I asked.

"Someone with O+ blood and and don't burn or have any effect from the sun at all." Dominic said.

The doctor pointed at him and said. "Thats right! But the problem is we only knew of ten people in the country with those specific things."

"So why not go pick them up and start the process of getting this whatever you call it." I said.

"O! We were going to do that?" Captain Oliver spoke up. "The problem is the first four were already dead and the other six we have no ideal about weather there dead or not or where they are."

"We knew where one was and we were going to get her but then we crashed here." The doctor said.

"So you are giving up!" Dominic said jumping up out of his chair.

"What would you have us do?" The doctor said. "The person in question worked at a hospital and from what we know most hospitals were over run and their staff wiped out in the first days of this."

"So what are you doing?" I asked.

The doctor nodded again. "We captured this thing and another we are keeping in a shed out back." he pointed at the dead head across the room. "I'm studying them to see if I can come up with something else we can do. Or at the least how long it takes them to rot and fall down for good."

"Why are you keeping on in the shed?" I asked.

The doctor frowned at me like I was an idiot. "This one has contact and keeps moving and the other one is strapped down and isolated. Its to see if one rots faster then the other. So I can see if they keep moving they degenerate faster or slower then if they are non-moving."

I nodded like I knew what he was talking about. "So after you guys crashed here did you make any effort to get to that person you were going after?"

"No! We didn't!" Captain Oliver said. "After we came down we didn't think we could get there before the subject was...." He paused for a second. "lost to us. So we set up camp here and decided to wait it out until we were pulled out by command." He looked down with a angry look on his face. "We lost communication with command two weeks ago. Were on our own and I do not want to risk my mens lives more then we already have."

"Your gonna just sit here until they rot then!" Dominic said.

The doctor put his hand on his shoulder and said. "Thats all we can do unless we can find out if the subject is alive and healthy." He walked over to the fence looking at the dead head on the other side. "No! We have no other choice. Helen Weathers is undoubtedly dead."


	57. Chapter 57

57

I stood up and promptly felt Dominic nudge me in the ribs. I glanced at him and he shook his head. I looked back at the doctor and Oliver who were both facing away from me and staring at the dead head.

"So have they.... You know decomposed much?" Dominic said.

The doctor turned around with a almost confused look on his face. Like he was disturbed from deep thought. "Um! No! Not really." he said turning around to look back at the thing. "There hasn't been any significant change in either this specimen or the one we have locked in the shed."

"I'm going to check on things upstairs." Oliver said and started for the stair way.

I opened my mouth to say something when Dominic nudged me again.

"You said you had the other one as a control subject with no contact?" Dominic said waving me to be quiet and not say anything.

"Thats quite true." The doctor said after watching the Captain make his way up and out of the basement. He pointed over to the table in the corner. "We have a camera set up in the shed to monitor the subject."

We both went over to the small monitor on the table and looked at it. We could see a small room that was well lite. There were some assorted boxes and tools laying around but standing in the middle of the room partially turned from us stood one of the dead heads. It stood motionless and other then the fact it was missing its nose you would of thought it was normal.

"The subject hasn't moved for two weeks now." The doctor said coming up behind us and looking over our shoulder. "It did it for about three days before that. I had one of the men go out and knock on the door to see if we could get a reaction."

"Did you?" I asked.

"Yes we did!" The doctor smiled. "The subject pounded on the door for four days before it stopped and took the stance you see now. It just stands there staring at the door. Waiting."

"And you see no change from one to the other?" Dominic said neither one of us wanted to know what the doc thought it was waiting for. We pretty much knew what that was.

The doctor scratched his head. "The only thing I noticed was that there seems to be a larger then normal calcium build up on the bones of this one." He said hooking his thumb over to the one in the cage.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"About a week ago one of his fingers got caught in the fence and it ripped it off from the joint. I decided to examen it." The doctor said.

I looked over and noticed for the first time it was indeed missing a finger on its right hand. "What does that mean?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know for sure. It could be the subject had a larger then normal amount of calcium in its system when it died."

"So he drank a lot of milk?" Dominic said.

"That or the virus is mutating in its body more." The doctor said.

"What would that mean?" I asked.

Before the doc could answer we heard Oliver from upstairs. "Your buddy's are here and dinner done."

"O! Good!" Simmons clasped his hands together. "I am hungry!" He smiled at us. "corporeal Lopez can't cook for anything but it is digestible." He started for the stairs. He took the first couple of steps up and stopped and turned to us. "I don't know exactly what the larger amount of calcium in the body means, but if it continues it will eventually make their bones a lot stronger and harder to penetrate." He turned around and started up the stairs again.

"Penetrate?" I said.

"Yea! We can't kill them as easily." Dominic said and followed the Doctor up the stairs.

"I didn't think they were easy to kill in the first place." I said and with a glance at the dead head in the cage followed them up.


	58. Chapter 58

58

As Doctor Simmons went through the door at the top of the stairs Dominic turned towards me. "Don't say a thing about your wife being alive." He whispered.

I looked at the door and then said. "Why! What if they can develop a cure?"

"Its not a cure it's just a immunity serum and we have no ideal what they would have to do to get it." He whispered back.

I was a little confused by this. "What do you mean do?"

Dominic took one more look at the doorway and then back at me. "Do they need her blood, or some other part and how far would they want to go and get it." He exhaled a little and then continued. "I've been to Doctors about this" He pointed to his cheek "for years and some of the things they do our not pleasant and some of the things they do are extremely painful."

"I didn't think about that." I replied thinking about it.

"Besides that do you think we really have a good lab to do all that kind of work?" He didn't wait for me to say anything and started back up the stairs.

What he said made sense to me. There was no way I was going to put Helen in that kind of danger. I was glad someone was watching out for her. I didn't always think things through. Helen was liked by about everyone at the ranch and it wasn't just because she was the resident medical expert either. Her personality and good humor and well as her way of putting people at ease made her liked by just about everyone she met.

"Are you coming?" Dominic said poking his head back through the doorway.

That snapped me out of my thinking. I didn't say anything and just started to climb the stairs again. As I went through the doorway I could hear the dead head down there start to moan louder. Thats funny I thought. He was moaning the whole time we were down there and I just kind of blocked it out. I took a final look down but all I could see was darkness, with a small light at the bottom.

I walked into the kitchen to find the others were there now. Plus several of Olivers men. Simmons was going from one to the other checking them out. They all had a bowl of something in their hands and were eating some sort of soup type thing.

"Here!" A voice from my side said and a bowl was pushed into my hands.

I looked up and saw that it was the guy I saw earlier at the stove stirring something. I smiled at him and nodded. I picked the spoon out of the bowl and brought out the first scoop. I could see some sort of meat that kind of looked like chicken covered an a brown lumpy liquid. I looked up at the guy.

"Chicken Stew!" He smiled. "We were out of beef and it taste better then it looks. Although if I had the right ingredients it would have been better."

I nodded my head and said thanks. I braced myself and took a bite. It wasn't the best thing I ever ate but it wasn't the worst either. The chicken was tough and the gravy liquid was a little over cooked but it was more then eatable. Looking back up at the guy I read his name tag on his shirt. It said Lopez on it. I thought it was a little weired that he didn't look Hispanic at all. As a matter of fact he was so white he could almost be passed off as an albino. "Its much better then I thought it would be. Thank you." I said to him.

He smiled large and walked back over to where the stove was and began to dish out a few more bowls of the stuff. He handed them to others two at a time who left and I assumed went to take them to some of the other men that were on guard.

"So where is this Hornbeck ranch you guys are from?" Oliver came up to me with a bowl in his hands as well.

I looked at him and just said. "I'm not quiet sure how to. You see I was asleep in the truck for a while so I'm not to sure where we are."

"Yea! He passed out after one of those things almost took a chunk out of his arm!" Mason laughed and some of the others followed suit.

"We had one latch onto our truck as we were making a run for it." Dominic said with an irritated look at Mason.

Oliver and none of his men laughed. He seemed to be in deep thought. "Sounds like a bad time there." He looked at me like he wanted to ask something, but in steed looked toward the Doctor who was busy checking out the others while they tried to eat. He turned back to me. " I wouldn't of wanted to be in your shoes I'm sure."

Feeling a little uncomfortable all of a sudden I just nodded.

"I got a map in the other room if you would care to join me and we can figure out where you are at and go from there." Oliver said.

"That sounds great." I said not feeling it. I followed him through the door with my bowl of stew and Dominic behind me. We went through the living room where a few more of Olivers men were sitting eating and talking in low voices and into a hallway. They had the look of men that have been stuck in the same place for a long time and nowhere to go for the foreseeable future. They didn't seem to interested in us at all. You would think they would being we were the first people they've seen in a month that wasn't dead. I thought on that as we went down the hall in entered the last door on the right at the end of the hall way.

As Dominic and me entered the room we could see a small bed pushed up to a wall. There were several pictures on the wall with people that I assumed lived here before Oliver and his men came. There was dresser and a desk and chair in one corner with papers piled up on it. Thats where Oliver led us to. He shoved the papers onto the ground with out even pausing to see what they were. Reaching into one of the drawers he withdrew a rolled up map and spreed it across the desk.

"Where here. Right at this rural intersection off the highway about two miles or so." He pointed at the map after reading it for a minute.

Dominic and me looked at the place. The map was a basic road map you would pick up at any gas station. Dominic pointed to a place on the map and said. "The ranch is here just off the road."

I noticed that the place he pointed was at least seventy miles in the opposite direction of where the Ranch really was.

Oliver nodded. "How many people are there?"

"I'd have to say maybe thirty people at the most." Dominic shrugged. "Its hard to tell because some leave and some come every few days.

"Thats near the oil refinery." Oliver said. "We flew over it before we came crashing down here." He seemed to take a real interest in the location we pointed out. "I would think it would be better for everyone to stick together then just come and go as they please. It creates a real security issue." He continued talking.

"We search everyone that comes in." I said.

Oliver nodded again. "You would have to."

"I'm sorry it seems you have a pretty big interest in our location may I ask why?" Dominic said.

Oliver looked at us with penetrating eyes. "If you haven't noticed were hold up here in a little house in the middle of nowhere with no real exit strategy." He paused for a second. "If for some reason we are dislodged from here I would like to know where we may be able to go from here."

Dominic nodded. "That makes sense to me. But if you come to the ranch you would have to acknowledge the authority of the ranch."

"I acknowledge the authority of the United States Government and no other." He said. "But If we were to come there we would not endanger your welfare and would do everything we could to protect you and yours."

"I think we can live with that." Dominic said.

"Thats a good thing." Oliver said. "Now if you don't mind...." He paused. "why don't you tell me where your ranch really is."

Dominic's eyes got big as well as mine.

"What are you talking about its right there." Dominic said pointing at the map again.

Oliver sighed and said. "Its not there and you know it! Theres nothing there but rocks and grass. We flew over it and there was no ranch or even a farm." He paused again and looked at me. "And I'm pretty sure Helen Weathers is alive and well, because you would of acknowledge her death Mr. Weathers."


	59. Chapter 59

59

I stared at Oliver for a second trying to figure out what to say.

"Just because he has the same last name as that person doesn't mean there related or even know each other!" Dominic said. His voice a little higher then normal.

Oliver who's eyes never left mine just smiled. "Your reaction down stairs told me everything I need to know." He looked over at Dominic. "Helen Weathers is alive and I believe she is at this ranch you talk about."

He turned his attention back to me. I nodded and said. "She's my wife!" I put my head down. "What makes you think I will be willing to let you know where shes at and let you and that Doctor get her and do who knows what."

"The doctor has no ideal shes alive!" The Captain straightened himself up and reached over and pushed the door shut. "I have a few things I want to say and then you can decided to tell me what you want."

"And if we choose to not let you know what you want?" Dominic said with a hint of hostility in his voice.

Oliver seemed to think this over for a second or two. "Then I am going to have to ask you and your boys to leave first thing in the morning. It's not because of your answer but because of what might happen."

I thought that was a weired answer, I expected him to say something like he was going to torture us or something. But the way he said it made it seem like we were in a lot more danger if we didn't say anything and it wasn't from him. "What is that suppose to mean?" I asked.

"Have any of you ever been in the military?" He asked.

We both shook our head no.

"Ok! So I want you to think about this." He paused to make sure he had our full attention. "All of my men with the exception of Lopez are not from around here. Most of them came from very far away. They all had family that as you can imagine are probably dead now. The government is non-existent and the only that that is holding them under my command is a lack of anything else to do."

We nodded like we truly understood what he was saying. Really we didn't.

"In the military there is two things that hold us together. One is our oath to defend America from all threats foreign and domestic. And two our family. Right now as far as any of them our concern there is no more America and our family's are dead." He stopped to let that soak in. "They have been stuck in this house for a month with no contact and no where to go. Haven't you noticed there lack of enthusiasm and seeing you arrive here?"

I nodded. "Ya! I kind of noticed that."

"They know that you came from somewhere. And they are going to want to go there as well. A couple of them wanted to just shot you and take what you had...." He paused with a kind of sad look on his face. "I'm loosing control of my men. I don't have anything to offer them other then maybe the Doc can find a way to take out the dead or find a cure." He looked at us with what I had to assume was hope in his eye's "If you allow us to come to this ranch I may be able to offer them a chance at a immunity from the virus and a new sense of purpose."

"What do you mean purpose?" Dominic said.

Oliver smiled. "One of my men stubbed his toe while we took out all of your men. And that was the extent of our injuries.." He paused again. "That makes me pretty sure none of you have had military training or security guard training for that matter. Am I right?"

Dominic looked at me and I looked at him and then we both nodded to Oliver.

He nodded back at us. "This is my propers ion. You take us back to the ranch my men and I will swear that we would defend it and the people in it with our lives from all outsiders dead or alive. We will also do what ever we can to ensure that this ranch prospers and help with gathering supplies."

He stopped talking and looked at us waiting for an answer. We looked at each other for a minute or two. We didn't say anything. We both had the same thing going through our head. Oliver and his men would be a great addition to our little community. He seemed to be honest and upfront with us. There was only one thing that bugged me. I turned toward Oliver and said. "What about Helen? I don't want her hurt."

Oliver nodded. "I don't know what you think we would do to her, but as far as I know all the doc needs is some blood, and some sort of lab to process it and try and figure out how to make it work."

I looked over at Dominic and he just nodded to me. I turned back and pointed at the map where the ranch was. "Its right here. And I want your word that you and your men won't hurt Helen or any of the others there."

Smiling broadly Oliver nodded. "You have my word and my promise that we will do what ever we can to protect you." He stuck out his hand to me and I shook it and then he gave his hand to Dominic who also shook it with a smile.

"What now?" I asked.

Oliver reached for the door and opened it. "Lets go tell my men and get them started on packing up to move out of the shit hole." He walked out the door we followed him.

As we came into the living room Oliver kept walking through it and into the kitchen saying as he went to the men in the room. "Start packing boys were moving out with first light."

The reaction was instantaneous. His men jumped up with smiles on there faces and started to move with a purpose around the room. Several of them walking out of the room for other rooms I assumed were to spreed the news and pack other things up. As we followed Oliver into the kitchen Oliver went over to Lopez and said something to him and then turned around to us.

"Dominic would you mind telling your guys what we are doing and get them to help where they can. Lopez here will assist you. Mr. Weathers will you come with me." It wasn't so much a question as a suggestion. I nodded and followed him into the basement again.

At the bottom of the stairs we found the Doc eating his bowl of stew absentmindedly and staring at the dead head in the cage.

"Doctor Simmons?" Oliver said.

"Do you think he looks more degenerated then he did yesterday Captain?" Simmons said with a spoon in his hand half way to his mouth.

Oliver looked at the thing and then said "He still looks as dead as he did yesterday."

"I think he smells worst, and that could be a good thing. Also his left cheek seems to be sagging a little more then yesterday." Simmons went on. I lost track of what he was saying as he was stuffing mouthfuls of stew in to his mouth as he was talking.

"Doctor!" Oliver said. And the repeated himself Several times as the Simmons seemed to not hear what Oliver was saying and just continued to mumble about all the things he thought was different about the dead head from yesterday.

Oliver turned to me and said. "He gets like this around this time of night." He looked back at Simmons and then at the thing in the cage. "Sir! Do you think you can get a cure from this thing?" He asked.

Simmons didn't seem to notice the question and started to point out how it seemed to be favoring its right leg over its left. I couldn't tell the difference.

"Doc! We need to talk to you!" Oliver said.

"What ever it is it can wait till later I think Captain!" Simmons said and picked up a clipboard attached to the fencing and started to write on it.

Oliver looked at me and then back at Simmons. He took a deep breath and the let it out. In a blink of an eye he withdrew his nine mil out of its holster and took aim and fired it.

A hole appeared in the middle of the fore head of the thing in the cage. Its head went back and then came forward again slowly. A black pus came out of the hole and then it fell to the ground.

"What have you done!" Simmons almost screamed throwing his body against the cage with a look of disbelief in his eyes. "Have you gone mad? Thats a months worth of work there!"

"Doctor Simmons. Kyle here has something he would like to tell you." Oliver said.

Simmons turned around with a angry look on his face. "And what can you tell me that is more important then trying to figure out how to stop these things?"

I swallowed hard and preyed that I was making the right decision. "Helen Weathers is my wife and shes alive and well."

A strange look came over Simmons face and the clip board fell out of Simmons hands.


	60. Chapter 60

60

The next few hours were a blur to me. Simmons asked question after question getting more excited with each one. I had no ideal how to answer most of them. In the end he seemed happy with the answers I gave him and he proceeded to take the dead heads body apart for further examination. Up stairs Dominic and Oliver were trying to figure out how to get all the men and equipment on the three trucks. I was really surprised how much stuff they could put on a helicopter. There was no way we were gong to get everything loaded.

"We have a car in the garage." Oliver said "But none of my men will drive it."

"Why?" I asked.

Oliver just waved for me to follow and he walked to the back of the house and went through what I assumed was the garage door. As Dominic, Mason and I followed him through it. Sitting in the middle of the floor in the garage was a metallic pink gremlin. My jaw dropped to my chest.

"Now thats classic!" Mason said and started to laugh.

Dominic put his hand on my shoulder and just said. "It's perfect for you." and started to laugh as well.

Oliver just looked at us with a weired look on his face. He had no ideal of the circumstances surrounding my arrival at the ranch. I just looked at him and smiled. "Its an inside joke." He just shrugged.

I walked around the car looking at it like it was some sort of nightmare come back to haunt me. As I got to the far side I saw a workbench with several tools and parts on it, as well as pictures. Picking up one of the pitchers I could see it depicted two pink gremlins with two people standing in front of them. One was a man a little older then me the other was a woman about the same age. They were smiling huge smiles like they were in the middle of a joke. I just smiled and set it back down on the work table.

Turning around I said "So what are we going to do for transportation?"

"You could drive this!" Mason roared. Dominic doubled over laughed even harder. I was trying my best to keep my composer even though I could feel my skin turn red.

Oliver with a look at the two laughing not understanding just straigtened his shirt and looked at me. "You said you guys were trying to get to some utility yard for wire and such?"

"Well yes!" I said with a side look at the two laughing at me.

"Then I suggest that most of your men stay here and we substitute them with some of my men." He gave a disgusted look at Dominic and Mason. "That way you will have trained men to help get that equipment you need and at the same time try and pick up some more trucks to transport us all to the ranch."

I thought that was a good ideal and told him so. Dominic and Mason got themselves under control and nodded there agreement as well. We started to talk it out and after about a half hour it was decided that Mason and I would go get the equipment and the others would stay behind and help pack things up here. Oliver would go with us as well with four of his men. When that was all decided we went back into the kitchen which seemed to be the main meeting hall for everyone and spreed the news.

Oliver had a hard time with his men. They all wanted to go get the trucks. They had been couped up in the house for so long they would rather face the dead out there then stay in the place any longer. Oliver finely had to chose four of them and threaten the rest with some sort of punishment for disobeying orders. He then put them in charge of Lopez while he was gone.

They grumbled and called the one who were picked ass kissers but I got the sense they didn't really mean it and they were more upset they weren't picked then anything. A guard detail for the night was picked and we were told we should get our rest while we can. It was planned for us to leave first thing in the morning and return by nightfall, pack everything up in the night and leave the next morning for the ranch. With any luck we would be at the ranch before dinner the night after next.

I started to head up to the up stairs where everyone slept. They only kept three down stairs on watch and two upstairs on watch. I was excluded from it because I was going out in the morning and was told to get as much sleep as I could. As I came to the top of the stairs I could see a hallway going each direction. At the end of each hallway was a window facing out of the house. One man sat in a chair on each end with a rifle pointed out watching the outside for any movement. It made me feel a little safe to see them there.

"Your going to be staying in the room to your right there." A voice said behind me.

I jumped at first and turned around to see Lopez standing behind me. "Thanks!" I said with a smile after a composed myself a little.

"Let me show you in!" He said. "Sorry about spooking you and all...." He said as he squeezed by me. "This house is kind of spooky though. It slowly eats at you." He opened the door to the right of where we were standing.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I followed him into the room. It was a small room with bunk beds and a few furnishings like a old desk and chair with papers and pens spreed across it. The wall were covered in a flower wall paper, with a yellow background. It wasn't my first choice of decor but I was sure Helen would of loved it.

"I never liked these old houses out in the middle of nowhere. They always remind me of some scary move where the killers about to jump out and stab you and theres nowhere for you to run." Lopez said as he walked over to the small window and peeked out of it.

I nodded and and said "Captain Oliver said your from around here?"

Lopez turned to me. "Sorta! I'm really from a small town about fifty miles south of here."

That wasn't to far from the ranch I figured. "You never heard of the Horbeck ranch?"

"Cant say I have!" he said. "I've been gone for about ten years now. This is the first time I've been back. And I wouldn't be here if it weren't for orders."

"Why is that?" I asked curious.

He looked at me for a minute like he was thinking. "When I lived here I was with the wrong crowd. I ended up in the Army because they told me go to the army or go to jail." He smiled and looked back out the window. "I found I liked it and stayed in even after my court order stay was over. I don't come back here because all my family is dead or moved away. The only ones left are the kind I don't want to get mixed up with again." He turned back to me. "There's nothing here for me."

I nodded and said. "You been in for ten years?"

"Yes I have." he fingered the rank on his shoulder "I was once a Sargent but was demoted a few months ago because of a training accident that killed one of my men." He got a sad look on his face. "It wasn't my fault he was being stupid but he was one of my men and so I payed the price he couldn't."

"That doesn't seem fair to me!" I said.

Lopez just got a smile on his face. "Thats the nature of the military. Someone has to be held accountable or the public will start yelling that we aren't doing our jobs."

I wanted to ask a few more questions but he started to walk out of the room. As he got to the door and said. "Is there anyone else in here with me?"

He turned around "Just the guards down stairs. They will be as quite as they can when they come up after their shift."

"You said guards? So where do I sleep in here?" I looked at the bunk beds in the room.

"Take one of the beds. Privet Moore is to tall to sleep in them so he sleeps on the ground." Lopez said and went out the door shutting it behind him.

I stood in the middle of the room and just stared at the door. After a minute or so of just blank thought I started to wander around the room. The desk was littered with drawings from some child. Mostly of stick figures in fields or playing in some park. I wondered over to the only other door in the room and opened it. It was a closet with small dresses hung up and some selfs with a few dolls and other clothes. On the ground was what looked like some military backpacks sitting on top of girls shoes. Oliver and his men may be staying here but they didn't seem to be trying to disturb anything of the previous owners stuff if they could help it.

I walked over to the window and peeked out. I could see the barn to my left and an open field to my right. The trucks were parked down below me on the side of the house. Looking out to the field I didn't see anything but blackness. Then I saw some sort of movement. Squinting I could see what looked like three figures stumbling out there toward the house. I wasn't to sure though. I lost site of the movement in the darkness and felt my hart tighten in my chest. I leaned out the window a little more to get a better look and try and pick up the movement again.

After a few seconds of trying my best I picked out the shapes again. This time much closer. I was about to yell when I heard a pop sound and then one of the figures fell over. And then another pop sound and another one fell over and then a third one and the last one fell over.

I went to the door and opened it. I popped my head out the door and looked down to my right to where I thought I heard the sound coming from. The man at the end of the hallway was scratching something in the wall next to him.

"Thats three more!" He said without looking back.

"Lucky shots Tad!" was the reply from the other end of the hall from the man guarding the other window.

I squinted at the wall from my room to make out what he was marking on the wall. I could only make out scratch marks in groups of four with a line diagonal across them. There were a lot of them. I turned and looked down the other end of the hall way and could see a similar group of marks in the wall by the other window. I put my head back into the room and shut the door.

I walked over to the bed and crawled into the top bunk. As I rolled onto it I realized that my feet hung off the end. This was a child's bunk alright. I thought to myself. I closed my eyes and tried to drift off to sleep but it was long in coming. I think a laid there for a few hours with all the things that happened to me over the last month and thinking of how the hell I managed to stay alive so far. I heard the two guys that were stay in the same room come in and get in the closet to gather there things. I felt one crawl into the bed below me and the other lay out his bag and crawl in. Lopez was right if I was asleep I wouldn't of heard them.

I listen to them settle in and then with a few minutes I could hear low breathing of two people sound asleep. I envied them and there ability to go to sleep so easy. With the sound of there breathing a fell off to sleep my self. My dreams were filled with the walking dead though and I tossed and turned the rest of the night never really going into a deep sleep.

I never really went to sleep and was wide awake when Lopez came in and shook me. I opened my eyes and he whispered that breakfast was done and waiting for me when I come down. He left the room as quietly as he came in. I laid there in the bed on my back thinking there was no way I got enough sleep last night. I felt more tired then I did when I went to sleep. I could hear the two in the room with me still sound asleep and envied them for there ability to do that.

After a couple of minutes I rolled out of bed and landed on my feet. I never took my shoes off and they made a semi-loud thump on the floor. I cringed because it was the only sound I heard in the house other then the low breathing of the two in the room with me. The one in the bed snorted a little and rolled over and went back to his steady breathing. The other never budged just laid there in the corner. Dead to the world. I smiled at my unintentional joke.

Walking over and opening the door to the hall way I tip toed out shutting the door behind me. I could see that it was a different two guys at the opposite ends of the hall way. I couldn't tell but it did look like there were more marks on the wall to there sides. It made me wonder how many have these guys taken out in the month they have been here. I made my way to the stairs and started down them. The guys at the window never even turned around to look at me and I wasn't to sure if they even knew I was there.

About halfway down the stairs I started to hear noises coming from the kitchen. There were two guys sitting on the couch playing cards over a coffee table and a couple of others still asleep on the floor. One of them I noted was Mason. I nodded to them and they nodded back with a smile each. I went on to the kitchen.

"For the last time! No! You can not bring that with us!" I heard Olivers voice before I saw him saying.

"But its my research! I need it for comparisons!" Doctor Simmons was saying back at him. As I came in all the way and now could see the two over by the basement door staring at each other with anger in there eyes.

"Good morn!" Dominic said from the table in the middle of the room. He was sitting down with a bowl in font of him eating something with four others in the room. Two of them were our guys and two were Olivers guys.

"Good morning to you too." I said back as another guy shoved a bowl in my hands. It wasn't Lopez at the stove so apparently they were taking turns cooking for every one. His name badge said Henderson. "Thank you Henderson!" I said.

"Don't thank me yet! You haven't tried it." He said to me and chuckled at his own joke and went back to stirring what ever it was in the pot on the stove.

I looked in the bowl it was filled with a grayish liquidly mass. Lifting the spoon to my nose I smelled the lumpy stuff. I wasn't to sure what it was. There was no real smell to it. I thought I could smell a little sausage but wasn't sure. All the other stuff kind of mixed and canceled there smells out. I looked up at Dominic who was smiling at me.

"Its some kind of portage they came up with." He told me. "Its not to bad if you drown it in this." He pushed over a bottle of tobacco sauce.

I walked over to the table and grabbed the bottle. I up ended it and shook what was left in the bottle onto the stuff. I only got a few drops. Apparently they all drown there stuff with tobacco. Dipping my spoon I took a bite. As soon as it hit my mouth it came right back out again, and all over the floor. Everyone at the table laughed.

"Thats nasty!" I said as I tried to spit the taste out of my mouth.

"I told them I don't know how to cook!" Henderson said. "But noooo everyone has to take there turn they say." He was shaking his head and stirring the stuff in the pot again.

Setting the bowl on the table I looked over at Oliver and Simmons who were still arguing over something but in lower voices and wondered what it was.

"Doc wants to bring the dead thing down stairs with us so he can study it." One of Olivers men at the table said. "You going to eat that?" He pointed at my bowl sitting on the table.

I looked at him with shock. "No! Go ahead if you can eat it."

"Thanks!" He said and reached over and grabbed my bowl and pured it into his. He then pulled a smaller bottle of tobacco sauce out of his pocket and poured the entire contents into the bowl stirred it and started to wolf it down.

"How can you stomach that?" I asked.

"We call him Garbage pail, because he can eat anything." Olivers other man at the table said. He wasn't eating his either but just twirling his spoon in it kind of like he was still debating if he could eat it at all.

"Did you sleep well last night Kyle?" Oliver said coming over to me. I didn't see the Doc anywhere and figured he stormed off down to the basement.

"I think I did." I said back to him.

"Thats good, because its going to be a long day." Oliver said as he patted me on the shoulder.

"Yea! A long day." I said as I for the first time fully remembered what I was going to be doing today. It didn't set well with me.

"I'll take you place if you eat this." Dominic said pushing his bowl towards me.

I put my hands up. "I would rather go out there with a sign that said all you can eat buffet." they all laughed.

"I'll take it!" Garbage pail said grabbing the bowl and pouring it into his. Dominic just shook his head and waved for him to go ahead.

"Its time to get ready. Were leaving in an half an hour." Oliver said as he clamped me on the shoulder and left the kitchen for the living room.

"Are you going to drive the Gremlin?" Garbage pail said between mouthfuls. Everyone at the table started to laugh.


	61. Chapter 61

(Authors note: Sorry I haven't been posting. Been busy at work and am in the middle of rewriting this whole story. Some of what comes next may be a little confusing. Its going off the rewrite and not what has been done so far.)

61

Sure enough a half hour later we were loaded up in the trucks and moving out. The sun was just coming up and we could see without lights on. Mason was in a irritated mood. They woke him up and put a bowl of breakfast in his hands. When he took a bite with out looking at it he puked all over the table and had to be carried out to the truck and loaded in with one of Olivers men. He complained about the gruel the whole time.

I got in the lead truck with Oliver in the passenger seat and one of his men in the back. All of his men looked armed to the teeth. Kind of like those pictures I saw of American troops in Afghanistan a few years ago. I felt a little safer with that thought. We drove off with out any fan fare from those in the house or not even much talking about what was going to happen.

As we pulled out of the long driveway onto a paved road. I remembered the CB in the truck and picked up the Mic. "Any one out there? This is Kyle." I said into it. All I heard was static. I looked at Oliver.

"Your not going to get an answer for a little while." He told me.

"Why not?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "It may not seem like it but we are in a depression. The radio waves wont get out or in unless theres a tower they can bounce off of."

"I don't get it." I said looking at him confusingly.

Oliver pointed outside the truck. "Radio waves go in straight lines. If there is nothing to divert them to a specific location they will just keep going in a straight line and off the earth. Thats why we use satellites and radio towers."

" Kind of like cell phone towers huh." I said regretting the words as they left my mouth.

Oliver looked at me like I was an idiot. "Yea! Like cell phone towers"

I didn't say anything and just kept driving. As we came around a bend not even a mile from the house a field opened up and in the middle of it I could see a large wreak of a helicopter. It was one of those large two rotor machines. Looking over at Oliver I could see a sadness in his eyes as he looked over at it. He turned back to the front and didn't look again. I looked at it one more time and realized it wasn't the wreak he was looking at but four small mounds with crosses in front of it.

We drove in silence for about five more miles and then came to an intersection filled with wreaks. We didn't see anything moving and assumed that there were no dead in the area. Oliver just pointed the direction and kept a watch out the window with his rifle out. I heard a pop from above us and looked to my right only to see a dead head with no head fall down. The guy in the back had seen it and taken it out.

"One less Zombie too worry about." Oliver said and just kept looking out the side window with his rifle sticking out.

I smiled at him. "So where are you from anyways?" I asked

He looked over at me and then back out the window. I didn't think he was going to answer and then after a few minutes of silence he said. "Georgia."

"Thats weird. You don't have a southern accent." I asked.

"Just because someone is from a southern state doesn't mean they have an accent." He replied with annoyance in his voice. "Take a right here." He added.

I looked up ahead and could see another road going off the one we were on. Turning onto it I could tell that it was a side access road used by farmers to get to there fields with heavy equipment so they didn't have to go on the highway. They usually went along a highway but this one kind of winded down like a country road. I looked over at Oliver. "Why are we going down this road? The highway would be faster."

"It will be crowded with a bunch of dead and wreaks too." He said. "Unless you know someone who cleared the way for us." He looked at me.

I shrugged and just kept on driving. The road was winding toward a black strip in the distance. After about five minutes I could tell it was a highway. From the distance I could tell there were cars on it but they were not moving. A few of them seemed to be on top of others. It was the first time I saw a major highway since this thing started. We always stayed to the back roads. As we got closer I could see movement on the highway.

"Get ready to speed up!" Oliver said as we got closer.

I could see now that the movement was a bunch of deadheads. They where wondering around on the road. I could also see movement in some of the cars. Since none of the dead heads wandering around where going after them I assumed that they were dead too. I felt my foot press down on the gas a little and we started to pick up speed.

"When they see us they will probably start to come after us." Oliver said. "Try and dodge them if you can."

No shit! I thought to myself. I did notice that Oliver's voice had a hint of a southern drawl to it. Maybe he did have an accent but didn't use it unless he was under pressure. Him being under pressure wasn't a good thought to me. I didn't have a good feeling about it.

"Whats the plan?" I asked.

Oliver scratched his chin and then said "We'll cruise along this road for about five miles." He looked down at the map in his lap. "There should be a underpass and we'll take that to get to the other side. Once there it should be a pretty straight shot to the place."

Looking up at the highway I could see that several of the things up there noticed us and were starting to come our direction. The highway was up a short embankment and as they stepped off the highway they fell and rolled down the hill, but they got up quick. I looked at Oliver "That sounds like a good plan." Looking back at the dead heads in front of us and then back at Oliver "That is if we survive this." I pressed the gas pedal down all the way.

"You only live once!" He said.

"But I would sure like to live it for a long time!" I said as the road turned and went parallel with the highway. One of the dead heads hit the front corner of the truck and bounced off. A couple of others fell down as Olivers men started to pick the ones closest to us off. I didn't think they were kill shots. The truck was moving to fast and bouncing along on the road, but they were knocking them down witch meant they weren't chasing us.

"Keep going and don't stop!" Oliver said as he fired a few rounds out the side window.

"OK! But I was thinking about stopping for a quick pee break!" I said.

"Go in your pants!" Oliver said seeming to ignore my sarcasm.

I pressed on the gas as hard as I could trying to push it through the floor board. We went screaming down the road. There where more and more of them coming over from the highway. I could tell that the road leveled out with the highway a little ways up, and what looked like about a thousand of those things where up there coming our way. In hind sight it was more then likely a hundred or so.

"Wait until your almost on them and then turn onto the highway!" I heard Oliver say to me.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and sweat pouring off of my head. My fingers were gripping the wheel so tight they started to hurt. I started to breath heavy through my mouth and try and keep my composer.

"Now!" Oliver yelled.

We where about fifty feet from them when he yelled it. I cranked the wheel hard and turned towards the highway. It was only about twenty feet from where we were at. As I pulled off the road I hit several of the dead that were coming at us along this small stretch of the road. I closed my eyes and hung on for all I was worth. We came up on the highway and I felt us hit something.

I opened my eyes just in time to see a Volkswagen bug spin away from us. I turned the wheel to stay on the road, but ended up going across it and into the center divide.

"Try and not hit the cars!" Oliver said hanging onto the door.

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" I yelled back at him as I cranked the wheel trying to get back on the road again. I cranked the wheel to avoid another car and side swiped a pick-up.

"Where past the main group! Get back on the side road now." Oliver said firing a few more shots at some dead heads that were getting close.

I turned into one of them and smashed him into the front of another car and plowed through a small group as I came back across the road. We went down a small rise and came bouncing into the access road. As I turned onto the road I looked behind me and could see that we where indeed past the crowd of dead. I was also astonished to see Olivers man in the back was still there. I had forgotten about him as we crashed through the highway.

"Keep going straight!" Oliver said as he hung himself out the window to get a better aim at the dead heads ahead of us.

I could see maybe twenty of them in front of us and I had now idea how many on the road to our side. There was a road barrier that they seemed to be having a hard time with getting over. I didn't question it I just pressed the gas harder. Several of the dead heads in front of us fell as Oliver and his man in the back took them out. They didn't get them all and we ended up plowing through a few of them. I kind of thought it was funny as they bounced off the hood and off the sides. Road rage at its greatest.

"Here's the turn!" Oliver said pointing up ahead of us.

I could see it. The highway went up into an over pass. I could see the road was an intersection. One road went under the highway the other continued to parallel the highway. As we came up on it a thought came to my mind. What if the road was blocked or there were a shit load of those things in there. My hands gripped the wheel tighter.

"Turn! Turn! Turn!" Oliver said as we came up to it.

I cranked the wheel and we went sliding side ways into the intersection. One of the trucks behind us smashed into the side of us. We went spinning around in a circle, and came to a stop facing the highway. The truck that hit us just kept going under followed by the other truck. I hit the gas and peeled out following them.

There were some dead heads in the under pass but only a few. We cruised by them hitting a few with glancing blows and then came out the other side. There was nothing but clear road ahead of us as far as I could see.

"Well that went better then expected." Oliver said. I looked over at him and could see that he was pale.

"What can I say! I must have Irish in me." I replied to him.


	62. Chapter 62

62

We cruised down the road for miles not saying anything. I passed the other trucks to be back in the lead again, Oliver just looked at the map and the surrounding area. I figured he was looking for reference points for the map. We hadn't seen anything move for a while. I thought that was a good thing. Oliver seemed to be getting a little agitated.

"Stop!" He said after looking at the map and the surrounding area Several times inside of a few seconds.

I pulled over and looked at him. "Whats up?" I asked.

He looked at the map and then over at a large clump of trees across a field from us. "I think its just past those trees." He said. He got out of the truck and walked over to the side of the road with the map. One of his men came over to him and started to look at the map himself. I noticed it was Corporeal Docker the one that had put his gun in my face when we first stumbled upon Oliver and his men.

I got out of the truck and started to stretch my legs out by just walking around in a circle and kicking a few small rocks on the ground.

"One hell of a ride huh!" The guy in the back said to me with a thick accent I couldn't place.

I looked up at him startled. I forgot about him again. "Ya! One hell of a ride." I could see how he stayed in the back now. He had taken some rope and tied it to one side of the truck around his waist and then to the other side of the truck. It left his hands free and more or less free movement to aim his rifle in any direction.

He smiled at me. "Say! Are there any cute girls at this ranch of yours?"

I never really noticed if there were any. During my wondering around of the ranch I never really looked at anyone in that way. I just shrugged. "Yea! There is."

"Cool man." He said to me with a broad smile. "Names Isac Monroe." He reached his hand out to shake mine.

"Kyle Weathers." I said back and shaking his hand. "Where are you from?"

"New York, New York!" He said with a smile. "The Bronx to be more precise."

"Thats funny!" I said. "You don't sound like your from New York."

"Not everyone from New York sounds like the mafia or 7/11 worker." He said with a small laugh.

Oliver came up to us with the map in hand "I think our best bet would be to take off across the field and get on that dirt road over there." He said pointing across the field towards the trees.

I looked over and couldn't see any road. As a matter of fact The trees where a little blurry to me. It had been a while since I went to the eye doctor. "I don't see any road?" I said.

Oliver handed me some binoculars and pointed again. "Its a little hard to see, but its right over there."

Peering through them I could make out the trees well enough but still didn't see any road. "I still don't see it?"

I felt someone push down on the binoculars gently. A thin line came into focus. "Thats a road?" I asked.

"Probably more of a trail." Oliver said. "It will get us where we want though."

I shrugged and handed the binoculars back to him. "Lets do it then."

Oliver smiled and said. "Lets do it." He looked up at Isac "See anything moving around here Monroe?"

"Haven't seen anything move in an hour sir." Isac replied.

"Good! Lets go get this done." Oliver said and then went around to the passenger side of the truck and got in. "How are we doing on gas Kyle?" He asked.

I got in and turned the engine over. Looking at the gage I said. "A third of a tank." That wasn't good. We had a full tank when we left the ranch and if we weren't careful will run out.

"Well when we get there maybe we can siphon some gas or just trade this thing in for something else." He said. "Lets go."

I shifted the truck into gear and started moving. I started to go off the road and felt Several rocks hit the bottom side of the truck.

"Take it slow. Theres no dead heads around right now." Oliver said.

I let off the gas a little and we made our way across the field toward a small thin line in the distance I was told was a road or trail.

"You have any kids Kyle?" Oliver asked.

Keeping an eye out for any large ruts or holes in the ground in front of us I answered absentmindedly. "No. We couldn't have any."

"Thats Probably a good thing." He said. "I have..." he paused for a second. "Has two."

I looked over at him. "You never know they may of hooked up with another group surviving this." I said.

He just kept looking out the window. "They died last year in a car accident."

"I'm sorry." I said and tried to stay focused on the field ahead of me.

"Don't be." Oliver said. "It was for the better in the end. At least I know I wont find them walking around like the rest of those things out there."

I didn't have anything to say to that so I just kept quiet. We came up on the line and it looked like it was some sort of bike trail more then a road. It was just wide enough for us to drive down. "At least its not as bumpy as the field." I said.

"Thank God for small miracles" Oliver said.

The trail winded its way through the field and towards the woods. As we came up to them we could see through them to the other side. I could make out a road and a fenced in building. I pointed toward it. "Is that it?" I asked.

"Unless I was reading this thing upside down Yes." Oliver said holding the map up. H stuck his out of the window and looked back a Isac. "See anything?"

I couldn't hear any reply, but Oliver put his head back in and just watched ahead of us. I figured Isac must of said the coast is clear. We entered the woods and made our way across them on the trail. About twenty feet from the other side of them Oliver waved me to stop the truck and he got out. A couple of his men came up from the back and they slowly made there way to the edge of the woods and crouched down.

After a few minutes Oliver turned around and signed something I couldn't figure out back towards us. I felt movement in the back of the truck and Isac jumped down and hurried forward to join them. Oliver said something to him and pointed to something. Isac laid down on the ground and took aim with his rifle. Three pops of his rifle later they all got up and headed back for the trucks.

Isac walked by me and said. "Three more Zombies toast." and crawled into the back of the truck and started to strap himself in.

Oliver Got in and just pointed to where they where all at a few seconds ago and I started to drive. As we came up to the edge I could see the building more clearly. There Several utility trucks parked around it and a large yard filled with spools of wire and other equipment.

"If thats not it then it at least has what we need." I said.

"Well lets go get it and get the hell back to the house and get the others then." Oliver said.

I nodded and started down the small hill from the woods to the road that went in front of the place. I could see the three dead heads Isac was talking about. They were about a hundred yards up the road laying there. I had to marvel at his ability to shot so far. I didn't think I could hit one in the chest from twenty feet away let alone a hundred yards and a head shot at that.

We drove down about forty yards and came to the main gate. It had a chain and pad lock on it. I was about to ask how we where suppose to get in when I heard a pop from the back and the padlock bounced around and then fell to the ground. I pulled up to the gate and pushed it with the front of the truck. It swung open with some creaking of hinges that haven't been oiled in some time. We drove through the gate and parked in front of the building and what I thought was the front entrance.

Oliver got out. "Stay here until we clear it." He said to me and then started to wave to his men. They came up and split into two groups. Each taking different sides of the building. About five minutes later Oliver came out with two of his men from the door in front of me. "Its all clear! Lets load up and get out of here."

"These guys are fucking good!" Mason said coming up to the side of my truck.

I could only nod as I watched Oliver order two of his men to take position to the side of the building and keep watch while the rest went over to the trucks parked around the building and started to get them ready to move. Oliver came up to us.

"What are you going to due hot wire them?" Mason asked.

Oliver smiled and said. "No! The keys where hanging up in the office." He looked over the parking lot and pointed to a semi at the end of a row of trucks. "That one is loaded with the stuff you guys need. Any of you know how to drive one."

I raised my hand. It had been a while but a few years ago my work had me go to school to learn to drive semi so I could drive the one we had back and forth from the supply warehouse they had across town. As it turned out I didn't have to drive it. They hired another guy that already knew how to.

"Then your the man." Oliver said. "I would like to be out of here in about ten minutes or less."

I nodded and got out of the truck and headed toward the semi. As I came up to it I could see that it wasn't anything I ever drove before and was a little concerned about being able to drive it. I stepped up on the running board and looked in. I was in luck it was a automatic. This would be easy. I remembered the keys and jumped down to go get them when Isac came up to me with a set of keys dangling between his fingers and his rifle slung over his shoulder.

"Looks like its me and you bro." He said.

I just smiled and took the keys.


	63. Chapter 63

63

When we took off out of the place ten minutes later like Oliver said I thought it would be good to have Isac with me. He seemed cheerful and open at first, but after about ten minutes down the road I was having regrets. All he wanted to know was how many girls were at the ranch and what his chances with them where. I tried to ignore him, but after a while I just started to answer him with vauge answers since I didn't really know the answers.

We decided to take the road outside the building out because we didn't think the big trucks would make it across the field. Oliver had found some better maps in the office and plotted a path for us back to the house. He said is should be safe, but it would take us a lot longer to get back. That is if the roads aren't clogged with wreaks and the dead.

I wasn't to thrilled with the qualifier he put in but Isac seemed to not care one way or the other. Other then talking about girls he seemed to like shooting the dead heads just as much. I asked him why, and all he said was that it was revenge for all his family in New Yorks that died in all this. He took a few shots out the window and turned back to me and started to grill me on the girls at the ranch again. I just drove on.

We cruised along for about another ten miles when Oliver in the truck ahead of us pulled over to the side of the road. I pulled in behind him and started to look around to see why he pulled over. I didn't see anything but an old farm house and barn about a half mile away in a field. The barn had seen better days. It was leaning over to the side and it looked like its roof sagging down quiet a bit. The house from what I could tell looked boarded up.

Oliver walked back to my truck keeping an eye on the field. As he came up along side he stepped up on the running board. "Where about a mile from the highway. As we come up on it your gonna have to take the lead." he told me.

"Why me!" I said not meaning to sound alarmed even though I was.

Oliver pointed to the front of my truck. "You got the biggest truck and the most power."

"So what does that mean?" I asked.

"When we get to the road some of these truck are not short enough to go under the over pass and we will have to go over it. Your gonna have to plow your way through to get to the other side." He told me and then had a strange look come over him and he looked back towards the farm house and barn. "You ever get the feeling your being watched?" He said.

I looked over at the house again. I didn't see anything out of the norm. "I don't have any feeling. Why?'

He looked down the convoy we had going and back up to the front. "Just something don't seem right to me." He jumped down from the truck and started to walk back toward his ride. As he reached his truck I saw his body slam into the side of the truck and a stream of blood shoot out from his shoulder. He fell down to the ground holding his shoulder.

Isac jumped out of the passenger seat screaming "Snipper!" and started to fire his rifle blindly towards the barn and house. Several of the others started to do the same. I ducked down in the drivers seat and started to prey.

"Who the hell is it?" I yelled.

Isac just kept firing his rifle at something. "A snipper!" is all he said.

I peeked out the side window towards the barn and house but couldn't see anything other then small chunks falling here and there as Isac and the others fired at them, and then I saw a flash from the top window of the house and Isac fell off the side of the truck. I ducked back down and scrambled for the passenger side door.

Looking out the door I could see Isac laying on his back with blood spurting out of his neck. His hands where trying vainly to stop the bleeding. I crawled out to the ground and heard a bullet whiz by my head and into the ground forty feet ahead of me. I didn't know what to do so I crawled over to Isac to see what I could do. As I reached him I tried to put my hand on his wounded neck but he waved me away.

"I'm done for. Go get the captain!" He said through clinched teeth.

I stared at him not knowing what to do. He slowly stopped moving and his hands fell to the side. I stared at him frozen.

"Do you know where its coming from?" I heard someone yelling at me. They had to repeat themselves Several times before I looked at them. It was Docker kneeling down by the front tire of the truck right behind mine.

I looked at him in a daze at first and then I snapped out of it for some reason. I pointed in the direction of the farm house. I didn't stand up but pointed like the truck wasn't there. "It's coming from the window at the top of the house."

Docker nodded and turned to one of the other men behind him and signaled something to him. I saw him nod his head like he was counting to three and then pop up and start to fire at the house. One of the other men farther down I could see got up and laid across the hood of a truck with a rifle. All at once they stopped firing and ducked down except the one guy on the hood. A few seconds later there was a pop and a minute later he crawled off the hood and nodded towards Docker.

I stood up and saw two men dash across the road and into the field. They where staying low but moving fast towards the house. Docker ran past me and knelled down by Isac putting his hand on his chest and looking at him. He got up again and ran towards the truck in front. I walked around to get a better view and could see him knelling by Oliver. He laid his rifle down and pulled something out of the vest thing he had on and unwrapped it. Oliver's legs started to move a little.

Docker looked over at me and waved me over to him. I looked across the field and could see the two guys had just about made it to the barn. Turning back towards Docker and Oliver and jogged over to them.

"Help me sit him up." Docker said.

I looked down at Oliver and could see blood everywhere. It looked like it was pumping out of his shoulder and his uniform was soaked. I bent down and grabbed him around his non hurt arm and helped Docker sit him up against the tire.

"It never feels better. No matter how many times your shot." Oliver said.

"How many time have you been shot?" I asked.

"Once!" He said through gritted teeth.

Docket snickered and I just looked confusingly at him. I looked back at the two guys heading for the house and didn't see them anymore. A couple of the other guys came up to us in including Mason.

"Sean got him sir!" One of them said. "Henry and Todd are checking out the house now." The one that spoke looked back towards Isac's body. "Isac's had it."

Oliver looked over and under the truck to see Isac and put his head back against the tire. "Well take him with us and put him to rest with the rest."

"Yes sir!" The one that spoke earlier said and he grabbed another man and Mason and took them over to take care of the body.

"The bullet went clean through sir." Docker said to him. He was pulling Olivers gear off to get to the wound. "I don't think it as serious as I first."

Oliver just grimaced and dealt with the discomfort. He looked at me. "You ever know what it is like in a fire fight?"

"No!" I said.

"Well now you do." He said with a chuckle and then a yelp af pain as Docker ripped his shirt open at the shoulder.

With me helping Docker got the bleeding under control and a bandage wrapped around Olivers shoulder. It went around his chest too to help it stay there.

"Well have to get you to the doc before it gets infected." Docker said helping him to his feet.

"We will." Oliver said. He looked over towards the house and smiled. "Looks like Sean didn't get a kill shot."

We looked where he was looking and could see the two men that went looking at the house come out from behind it with a third man being dragged between them.

"He's not going to be happy." Docker said.

"Nope! Not happy at all." Oliver said.

I watched them start to drag the guy towards us for a minute. They seemed to be having a hard time of it. The guy did seem heavy and not helping at all. I looked towards my truck and could see a couple of guys and Mason loading Isac onto the back of my truck like baggage. I thought that was kind of sad. I know they had no choice but he seemed to deserved more then to be packed like baggage in the back of a semi truck.

"O! Crap!" I heard someone say. I looked up and saw one of the guys on top of the truck with another set of binoculars looking across the field. I looked over and couldn't see anything but the three guys.

"Run! You got some behind you!" The guy screamed. I squinted across the field and looked behind them. On the horizon I could see movement but not what it was.

"What is it!" Oliver said behind me.

The guy put the binoculars down and looked over at Oliver while pointing across the field. "Hundreds of them. Running towards us!" He said.

"Get to the trucks now!" Oliver Yelled. Docker helped him to his truck and I just stood there as I could now see what the guy was talking about. About a hundred yards behind the house hundreds of dead where charging across the field at us. The two guys where still struggling with there captive and not making any head way.

Docker ran by me yelling "Get in your truck!" It snapped me out of my horrified trance. I turned towards the truck and ran for it.

The yells of the other men finally caught the attention of the three in the field. They looked around and saw what was coming. Our two guys just dropped the third and ran for it. The third guy got up I could see blood all over the side of his body. Instead of running after them turned around. He saw what was coming. He went to his knees and put his hands in the air like he was surrendering.

I sat there mesmerized as the hoard envelope him and started to rip him apart. What was he doing? I wondered. Theres no way he thought they were going to take him prisoner. A horn honking behind me brought me back to reality. I looked behind me and could see the driver in the next truck waving me on. I looked forward and could see Oliver and the truck ahead of us was already going.

The two in the field were about a hundred feet from the road and veering to the side to catch us as we went by. The hoard was about another hundred feet behind them and catching up fast. I hit the gas and started to move out. There was gun fire coming from behind me as the guys in the vehicles in beck started to fire at the dead in the front of the mass. I saw a few fall down and some behind them trip over them, but it didn't seem to stop there advance. Pressing the gas down to the floor of the truck I could hear the engine rev up and the truck start to pick up speed.

Watching in the mirror I could see that the two men in the field reached the road and where grabbing hold of the last truck in the line. They swung themselves up onto the back just as the hoard reached the road as well. The last truck was momentarily enveloped by it, but smashed its way through with the guys in the back firing blindly into it. I could see several of the dead fall under its wheel.

With in moments the hoard was receding into the background. I could still see that they were chasing after us, but we were going faster then them. I turned to the front and could see Oliver speeding up to get away as fast as he could.


	64. Chapter 64

64

We traveled down the road for a few miles when Oliver slowed down and waved me by. Thats when I remembered I was the one that was suppose to lead us back across the highway. I pulled over to the other side of the road and passed him up. As I passed I could see Oliver in his truck wave to me. He wasn't wearing any shirt and I could see his bandages were soaked through with blood. He just smiled and waved me on. I waved back and from that point on I felt like I was on auto pilot.

Coming around a bend in the road the highway came into site. From the distance I could make out several people moving along it in between cars and trucks. I had to remind my self that they weren't people anymore. Unknowingly my foot started to press the gas a little more and I could feel the truck picking up speed. The ground around the Highway was raised so the underpass could go under it. I could see that if I drove to the right of it there seemed to be less of them and the ground didn't seem as raised up at a steep level. I turned toward the spot I had in mind and I pressed the gas pedal to the floor. I wanted to get over the road as fast as possible, and I could see I would have to hit a few cars out of the way.

I held my arms on the steering wheel stiffly thinking it would help with the jarring I was sure that was going to happen. A horn started to blast from behind me, and the dead heads up on the road and from what I could see to the side took notice of me and turned and ran at me. What the hell were they thinking honking there horn like that. I looked behind me at the truck behind me and could see Oliver waving at me and pointing. I couldn't figure out what he was doing until I looked back in front of me. Right before the incline to the road I saw what he was pointing at. A ditch that ran along the road for water run off. The first of the dead heads hit the front of the truck. I didn't feel much in terms of impact from them and they bounced off and to the side or under the truck, but then again I was focused on the ditch in front of me. Feeling my eyes grow big at the last second I closed them and the truck hit the ditch. I was bounced all over the cab and found myself in the passenger seat looking out the front windshield. The trucks momentum bounced it over the ditch and up on to the road and stopped.

I could see several of the dead heads converging on me. I slid over to the drivers side and hit the gas pedal with all the force I could. It went down about an inch and then stopped. Looking out the window I could see that they were almost right on top of me. I looked down at the pedal and saw that a water bottle was jammed under the pedal. I bent down and reached for the bottle to dislodge it and when it came loose I sat up. One of the dead jumped up on the running board. A small part of my mind said that I haven't seen them do that before, the rest of my brain was pretty much locked up and frozen. The thing on the running board brought its fist back and forward to the window. It shattered and its hand reached in to me. I pressed the gas pedal and tried to fight off the things arms as it reached in the window for me. I noticed that it only had one arm which I was glad for.

I felt the truck moving forward but was to preoccupy with the thing trying to get me to see where I was going. It looked like its skin on its face was stripped off. All I could see was bone and muscle. Another small part of my mind thought all those biology pictures I saw in school were right about the muscle structure of the human body. As I was holding its one arm from me it twisted that arm and some how got a hold of my arm and pulled me toward it. I closed my eyes and waited for the bite. Nothing happened but all of a sudden I felt its hand lessen its grip and when I opened my eyes I watched it fall from the truck half of its face was gone. Thats when I heard the gun fire from behind me.

Looking behind me I could see that the rest of the trucks in my group had stopped and where firing at the dead all around them. Oliver was holding his rifle out the window of his truck and firing one armed at all the dead near by. I turned back to the front and pressed the pedal to the metal and felt the truck start to edge forward. It moved more onto the road and into a pickup and started to push it out of the way. I noticed there was a guy in the drivers seat scratching at the window to get out and to me. Several of the other dead heads on the road had reached the truck and where trying to climb up on the truck to get to me. I reached over and grabbed the rifle that was on the floor board on the passenger side and brought it up and pointed it out the side window.

Just as the barrel poked out the window one of the dead heads face came into site of the window. I pulled the trigger and a hole formed in its chest. It wasn't a kill shot but it did knock it off the truck and onto a group of its fellows knocking them down to. Another one had gotten up one the passenger side and started to pound on the window. I thought about swinging the rifle over and taking it out but thought as long as it was on the other side of the glass I was ok. I was over the first part of the road and in the medium when right in front of me I saw a dead head launch himself from the other side of the road and onto the front of my truck. It was at least a fifteen foot jump.

When it landed on the front of the truck it started to claw its way forward towards me but seemed to be having problems. It couldn't pull itself forward. I was at a lost for what to do. I could hang out the window and take a shot but with all the dead heads around me That could give them a chance to grab me. In the end I decided to not do anything until it managed to get closer to me. I moved myself around back and forth to see around it as the truck moved forward across the medium and onto the other side of the road and then it jerked to a stop throwing me against the wheel knocking the breath out of my lungs. The thing in front just kept on trying to get me and some of the other dead heads started to climb the side of the cab. The one at the passenger window had managed to crack the window but was knocked off with the jarring of the truck. I looked in the rear view mirror and could see what happened. The rear wheels of the trailer had gotten stuck in the ditch.

I fired a couple of shots at the dead heads climbing the side of the truck and gunned the gas as hard as I could. The wheels started to squeal and smoke came up from the pavement, but the truck started to inch forward. I fired a few more shot out the window and thought I might of hit a few of them but a click from the gun told me I was out of rounds. "Crap!" I yelled and braced myself and pushed the pedal with all my weight. The thing on the front of the truck still tried to get to me but seemed to be stuck on something I couldn't figure out what. The truck pulled out of the ditch and with a lurch shot forward and into a mini van on the other side of the road. It pushed it across the road and down the other side of the embankment. It rolled down turning over a couple of times before it came to a stop upside down with its side door hanging to the side.

The truck came down the side and I was glad to see no ditch on this side. Out of the minivan came four small figures running towards the truck. I thought what the hell just as one of them launched itself at the truck. It landed on the front bumper and stared at me with vacant eyes. The kid couldn't of been more then fourteen. It had matted red hair and even through the pale skin I could see that it had a lot of freckles when it was alive. It clawed its way up to the hood of the truck and stood up. The other three kids jumped on the truck as well. They all had matted red hair and freckles to. The first one got up to the windshield but the truck hit a bump and bounced up in the ground. The kid went flying off as well as two of the others. The guy stuck on the front slid back and I could tell what was holding him. When he jumped on the truck he impaled himself on the hood ordainment. It kept him from being thrown off, but it also kept him from pulling himself towards me.

The other kid that wasn't thrown off tried to pull itself up on the hood but slipped and fell to the side. I felt a bump under the tire and just kept on trucking. I came down the side embankment and onto the access road on the other side and started to pick up speed. It was getting harder to see around the thing stuck to the hood as he started to wave his hands in an effort to get to me. It looked like it was clear around me for the minute so I put the rifle out the window to shoot the thing on the hood. I pulled the trigger and heard a clicking sound and remembered that it was out of rounds. The thing grabbed the barrel of the rifle and yanked it out of my hand. I stuck my head back inside of the cab.

The thing on the hood didn't let go of the rifle and started to swing it at me. The butt end of the rifle reached the windshield and put a large crack in it. He started to swing it madly at me breaking the window more and more until it shattered. After the windshield shattered it stuck the butt end inside and tried to hit me with it. I grabbed for it and yanked on it. It didn't let go, but yanked back. It was a lot more stronger then I thought. It just about pulled me out the front of the truck. My foot left the gas pedal and half my body hung out the shattered windshield. It tried to reach me with its free hand and grabbed a hold of my shoulder and started to pull me towards it. I felt my belt buckle catch on the steering wheel and stick. We were both stuck, him impaled on the hood ordainment me on the steering wheel. His face was about three inches from mine.

It kept on chomping in my direction and I could smell its breath. I didn't think the dead would have breath, but this thing did and it stank. I tried to keep from throwing up the best I could and pull myself back in but I couldn't. I had one hand on the rifle butt the keep him from clubbing me and the other hand was trying to dislodge his hand from my shoulder. I was trying to pull myself in with the bottom half of my body when my belt buckle came loose. With a sudden jerking motion I came the rest of the way out of the cab. The thing on the front of the hood hands came loose all of a sudden in an effort to take a bite out of me fell back at the same time and came loose from the ordainment and fell down in front of the truck. I stopped at the end of the hood just in time to see it fall to the ground and the truck roll slowly over it.

I pushed myself back into the cab and paused to take a breath. The truck came to a stop and I looked around. The area still seemed clear. There were maybe a half dozen of the dead heads coming my way, but the rest of them must of gone to the other side of the road when we came up to it. I heard a sound coming from below me and looked out the window and down. The thing that was on the hood was crawling out from under the truck. I looked out the rear view mirror and could see the Oliver and the others coming over the highway and towards me. I had to get going. With a look down at the thing who was half ways out I smiled at it as it turned its head to look at me. "Time to die you fucker." and hit the gas. The truck lurched into motion and I felt a couple of satisfying bumps as the wheels rolled over the thing. I picked up speed and hit a couple of more dead heads as they came onto the access road. Oliver and the others were right behind me. I just kept driving giggling to myself as I ran over or bounced another dead off the truck going down the road.


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

We went about two miles down the road before we cleared most of the dead. I was still smiling thinking we were in the clear when I heard the clawing coming from the side of the truck. I looked out the side window and down when a hand came at my face. I ducked back just in time to avoid its swipe but it grasped onto the window edge and held on. I jerked the wheel to the side and the truck swerved over the road.

I saw a head come into view. Part of its head was missing and an eye was hanging by a thread of skin. The thing pulled itself partly into the window. I put my hand on its forehead and tried to push it out but one of its hands reached up and grabbed my arm. I hit the break and the truck jerked forward as the wheels screeched across the road. The dead head swung forward and hit the side of the window but didn't dislodge from the truck. He swung back towards me and I grabbed for its neck as it came back at me and I hit the gas again jerking it back the other way.

It grabbed my arm with both its hands and held on as it tried to take a bite out of my arm. I had it at an angle it wasn't able to take a bite, and I knew if I let go it would have me. I hung on to its neck as hard as I could and kept pushing it around the wind opening trying to keep it from biting. I glanced over to the seat for my gun, but saw that it had falling to the floor board and out of reach. I jerked the steering wheel back and forth to try and dislodge it but it had to great of a hold on me. Something to the back of my mind told me that this thing a lot lighter than it should be but could figure it out since I was really trying to keep it from biting me.

I hit the brakes again and as the truck screeched to a stop again it swung out from me. I could see why it was so light now. Most of its body was gone from the rib cage down. I felt like puking looking at it. My stomach turned up and I felt the bile come forth and out in a stream right at the things face. I hit it square in the face covering it. This seemed to have a effect on it as its hands released from my arm and I let go. It fell out of site to the side of the truck. I looked over and could see it on the running board trying to get a grasp on the door to pull itself up to me again. I hit the gas and the truck jumped forward again and the thing fell off the truck and rolled to the side of the road.

Taking a deep breath and I put both hands on the wheel and pressed the gas to the floor. Looking in the rear view mirror which was crocked but could see the thing crawling after me along the side of the road. I looked out the window and to the back of the truck and could see the others behind me. Oliver was waving for me to pull over to the side of the road so he could get by me. I guided it over and he passed me up but not before he looked at me with a grin and waved at me.


End file.
